Police Reunion: 2007/08

Policemen out of sync...

The band's comeback concert is a marketing gimmick; we'd rather call it a breakup. The band played like the Polish national team at Euro 2019. But the fans were having a blast.

The final notes of Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up" were playing, and the audience was on their feet when Stewart Copeland took the stage. One strike of his gong, and Sting was singing "Message In A Bottle." The very first song made me regret that only a few more shows in Europe, a tour in America, and the musicians would part ways forever.

However, the musicians didn't let me feel sorry. While Sting sang the first song with great energy, he unsuccessfully tried to improvise with his bandmates in "Walking On The Moon." It was as if they had grown bored with the close-to-the-original, brilliant performances I'd heard during the first leg of their European tour in Munich in 2007.

A moment later, the trio launched into a powerful rendition of "Demolition Man," but if it weren't for Andy Summers's powerful guitar solo and riffs, the weariness in Sting's voice would have been more apparent. He perked up during the introductions. He greeted us in Polish and asked us to raise our hands above our heads. Seeing the forest of hands, he sang the slower "Voices Inside My Head," combined with the fast-paced "When the World Is Running Down." This time, however, Summers lost it. The men were on stage together, but played separately. The guitarist only really got involved with his solo. Unfortunately, he performed it loosely with his bandmates.

Copeland, giving his all, tried to strengthen the band's musical backbone, but the other members ignored his rhythmic cues. "Don't Stand Too Close to Me" was the perfect culmination of the Policemen's mental isolation. Throughout the entire concert, they didn't speak to each other once, nor did they exchange a knowing glance. When I watched Sting, who had been handing over his stage space to his bandmates last year, I saw the musician drifting back into his own musical world. He sang and played his own bass. And for himself. After all, as we remember from his solo appearances, he doesn't need instrumentalists from his parent group to recreate its greatest hits under his own banner.

It's not to say that The Police brought the Polish audience to tears during 'Driven To Tears,' but they must have become bored, as some of them played the role of a Mexican wave, something I've never seen at any good concert in Chorzów. The musicians lacked energy even for the dynamic opening of the songs. In 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da,' only the chorus was listenable. A bit of magic crept into the Police's music when they played the catchy theme 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.' The audience picked up on Sting's call and responded with a chorus. Just like during – and I take my hat off to you – the exceptionally successful 'Can't Stand Losing You/Regatta De Blanc.'

As 'Wrapped Around Your Finger' began, Copeland's silhouette appeared against a lit, silver gong, trying to work his magic with the percussion instruments. However, the song's monotonous tempo made The Police sound like a graveyard band at their own funeral. Summers, looking like a sleepy koala bear, only came alive during the encore and "Roxanne." But when he performed "King of Pain" with a distracted expression, I suffered like the song's protagonist. Fortunately, The Police quickly left the stage. Everyone went their separate ways.

(c) życie Warszawy by Jacek Cieślak