Police Reunion: 2007/08

Bell Centre turns into a Police state...

More than 19,000 fans pack the concert hall to the rafters as aging rockers remind them of what the excitement was all about way back in the '80s - music, music, music

''Nous sommes les flics,'' said the man who needed no introduction, from the band who needed no introduction, to the crowd of more than 19,000 who had waited nearly 25 years to see them. The Police reunion tour stopped in for the first of two nights at the Bell Centre yesterday and, except for the ill-advised reworking of a couple of songs, they stuck to script and pulled it off. Not bad for a bunch of old guys.

There's a lot riding on this tour - egos, money, a musical legacy. The Police disbanded at the peak of their popularity, when internal conflict reached the point of no return in 1984. And while the three members have regrouped on a few isolated occasions, this is the closest they have come to once again behaving as a band.

But despite the cynical lens through which this series of shows can quite rightfully be seen, they managed to remind us what all the excitement was about in the first place. The music. From Andy Summers's first guitar notes, launching the night's first song, 'Message In A Bottle', they were off and running. Stewart Copeland pushed things fast-forward with a steady, multi-textured rhythm, and Sting came in with the classic line: ''Just a castaway / An island lost at sea, oh.''

This was the Bell Centre as it's rarely seen for concerts - packed to the rafters, with electricity in the air. ''Another lonely day / No one here but me, oh,'' he continued, acknowledging the irony (no one but him and 19,000 adoring fans) with a grin. The smile didn't leave his face for most of the night, magnified on the big screens above, alongside shots of his bandmates, hard at work.

Sting's voice was in top form, clear, crisp and arrestingly pretty. And he wasn't afraid to show it off, ad libbing harmonic variations to many melodies. Which was fine when it was kept to a minimum. 'Synchronicity II' and 'Walking on the Moon' both went off without a hitch. But when they got to the moody 'Voices Inside My Head', things began to unravel.

As the song morphed into 'When the World Is Running Down', halfway through, the band's attempt at an update sounded cloyingly out of touch. Summers's guitar solo was filled with cheese, and Sting's singing was new-jazz nonsense. They were in the midst of a modern-rock mess. 'Don't Stand So Close to Me', next, didn't fare much better.

'Driven To Tears' got things back on track, as the band contented itself with exploring the subtleties of the original arrangement. With 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic' the liftoff was permanent. The crowd was on its feet, singalong in full swing. Sting led a call-and-response of his infamous ''Ee-oh, ee-oh, ee-oh-oh.''

And the hits flowed freely - 'Wrapped Around Your Finger', 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da', 'Can't Stand Losing You', a climactic rendition of 'Roxanne', and the soothing release of 'Every Breath You Take'.

Sting took one more liberty, on 'So Lonely', near concert's end. ''All dressed up and nowhere to go,'' he sang, ''Welcome to the Stewart Copeland show.'' Old rivalries die hard, apparently. But the band played on, and if Copeland was miffed, he took it out on his kit. Maybe it really is just like old times.

Fiction Plane opened. Led by Sting's son Joe Sumner, the band delivered a forgettable set of surprisingly hook-less rock songs. On the bright side, there was a resemblance in the voice.

(c) The Montreal Gazette by T'Cha Dunlevy

The Police: A singer, a drummer, and a ghost...

"Welcome to the Stewart Copeland show," sang Sting during "So Lonely" at the first encore. What was undoubtedly intended as a nod, if not a tip of the hat, was in fact the most accurate summary of what the 20,000 spectators gathered at the Bell Centre had just heard for 105 minutes. Without Copeland and his inventive and energetic playing, it would have felt like a Sting solo show.

Mind you, Sting was on fire. No complaints about the singer, except that at 55, you can no longer hear the falsetto that was the charm of "So Lonely," "Walking in Your Footsteps," and "Voices Inside My Head." Sting the bassist was also up to the task, as was the leader he has always been within this trio of strong personalities. The problem, a considerable one when celebrating the reunion of a trio, was the absence of a third player. And that made all the difference.

Andy Summers was there with his guitars, though. If I were being kind, I'd say Sting's voice was twice as loud as Summers' guitar, but that would be an understatement. Summers did throw in a few solos, most of them of questionable interest, and even then, his guitar sound was muffled and echoey. But when it really mattered, his presence was more felt than heard.

This isn't just a minor detail. The Police's strength used to lie in this kind of frontal assault they launched so brilliantly as a trio, hitting you right in the gut. Summers' guitar primarily served a rhythmic function, contributing to the extraordinary impact of this hard-hitting music. Yesterday, at best, it added subtle touches to the music of a truly talented duo.

At first, during 'Message in a Bottle' and 'Synchronicity II', which was once the finest example of The Police's power, I thought it was a sound balance issue. Then, it dawned on me: today, the priority is for Sting's voice to be clearly heard, the voice that used to resonate with us just as much, if not more, when it was truly part of a whole and didn't overshadow The Police's music.

This was particularly noticeable in early songs like 'Can't Stand Losing You', which lacked energy, but also on 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic', deprived not only of its piano but also of the guitar that could have compensated. Thankfully, Sting's voice, Copeland's dynamic playing, and the irresistible charm of this perfect pop song saved the day.

As I've already said, Copeland was absolutely fantastic. Behind his drum kit or on a raised platform surrounded by his percussion gear, he was the true driving force of the show. Sting was very much like the crooner he's become over the years, more suave than biting, slowing down the tempo and enjoying getting his audience to sing along. It was generally very successful, except when the star sang "De Do Do Do" and his fans responded in unison with "De Da Da Da" ad nauseam.

But the real pleasure of this reunion evening lay in a solid setlist that cleverly blended the big hits with more obscure tracks, yet ones that perfectly captured the originality and audacity of the young Sting, Copeland, and Summers. I'm thinking of "Reggata de Blanc," with its irresistible rhythm and onomatopoeia that the audience enthusiastically joined in on, which saved a somewhat lackluster "Can't Stand Losing You" from sinking.

Speaking of the audience, they were clearly thrilled to see or see again a legendary band and to finally hear all these iconic songs performed by their creators. A generous audience, but one that, it seems to me, could have gone even wilder if the music had been up to scratch.

In 1981, at the CEPSUM, whose acoustics were, at best, less than ideal, The Police won the day with sheer energy, proving beyond a doubt that they could elevate their songs live. Since yesterday, I know that to truly appreciate The Police, it's best to listen to their albums.

(c) La Presse by Alain De Repentigny

Sting, Stuart, and Andy electrify the crowd...

Like a message in a bottle that has sailed across many oceans over the past 24 years, The Police traveled up the St. Lawrence River to reach the shores of Montreal and reconnect with their fans in grand style last night at a packed and electric Bell Centre.

When Sting, Stuart Copeland, and Andy Summers took to the stage around 8:45 p.m., the 20,000 spectators packed into the arena gave them a welcome worthy of U2 or Madonna.

As has been the case since the beginning of this tour, 'Message in a Bottle' kicked off the nearly two-hour performance. In the blink of an eye, fans of all ages were transported back to the classics of the band that dominated the global pop scene in the early 1990s.

Right from the start, it was clear that Sting's voice was even more powerful than it had been in Vancouver two months prior.

"How's it going, Montreal?" he called out to the crowd, who clapped along to the song with abandon.

The Police followed with a high-energy version of "Synchronicity II," while multiple giant screens displayed the red, yellow, and blue stripes from the 1983 album cover.

While "Walking In The Moon" once again gave fans the chance to sing along, it was Andy Summers's wild solo during "When The World Is Running Down" that proved to be the highlight of this exhilarating first half-hour.

As the opening act, Montrealers had the chance to discover Fiction Plane, the band of Sting's son, Joe Sumner. Along with his bandmates Seton Daunt and Pete Wilhoit, Sumner dazzled the audience with vocals remarkably similar to those of his famous father.

The band played for 45 minutes, drawing from their new album, 'Left Side of the Brain'.

If the son plays bass like his dad, he also jumps around like him, even launching himself off the top of his amps. Fiction Plane delivered their solid tracks 'Shine On', 'Drink', 'Two Sisters', and 'Cigarettes' with undeniable professionalism.

There's no doubt about it, for the Sumners, who both speak French, charisma is a family affair.

(c) Le Journal de Montréal by Philippe Rezzonico