Friday, June 22, 2007

The Police at the Honda Center






The Police descended down the 5 freeway into the home of the Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks. Even though I am a long time Los Angeles Kings fan, I ventured into the Honda Center for another night of The Police. Signs were posted as I entered the venue that tonight's performance would be taped. I was hoping for a resurfacing of "Spirits In The Material World" but I was treated to the best of three Police shows yet.

Fiction Plane opened yet again. I have an equation I want you to solve. The Wallflowers are > or < Fiction Plane? Place your answer in the comment section.

I had a seat down on the floor 3 rows from the soundboard. It was the perfect spot in terms of acoustics and mix. I have attended shows at Honda Center in the past and find it to have better overall sound compared to the Staples Center. The crowd at the Honda Center was electric. A good majority of the crowd stood the entire night. "Message In A Bottle" got the crowd singing along and dancing in the aisles. "Syncronicity II" had a blazing guitar solo by Andy Summers who was on fire all night. I know Andy is legendary, but I felt tonight he earned his legendary status. I was close enough to see Sting and Andy smiling at each other throughout the night and having a good time. I would venture to say The Police have finally hit their stride. "Walking On The Moon" takes a different form live and the band jams out for a bit while walking around the stage to say "Hello" to the crowd. "Driven To Tears" had such a scorching solo from Andy that the crowd roared in approval. I saw Andy flash a huge smile afterwards that signified he was impressed himself. "Truth Hits Everybody" was spectacular with the best background vocals yet supplied by Andy and Stewart. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" was an extended version and had a massive crowd sing along that had Sting commenting that Orange County has the best singers. "Wrapped Around Your Finger" had Stewart tickling the xylophone keys on his side percussion kit. "Walking In Your Footsteps" had a moment with Andy and Sting interacting with each other that left Sting laughing before he went back into the song. "Can't Stand Losing You" had a blistering phaser outro provided by Andy again who was really enjoying himself onstage. I think The Police knew during this show that they were on fire. If they can pull off a repeat performance at Dodger Stadium and include "Spirits In The Material World" it would be incredible. Stay tuned for the report from Dodger Stadium.


The Police Setlist for The Honda Center (6/21/07)
"Message In A Bottle"
"Synchronicity II"
"Walking on the Moon"
"Voices Inside My Head"
"When the World is Running Down"
"Don't Stand So Close"
"Driven to Tears"
"The Bed Is Too Big"
"Truth Hits Everybody"
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"
"Wrapped Around Your Finger"
"De Do Do Do De Da Da Da"
"Invisible Sun"
"Walking In Your Footsteps"
"Can't Stand Losing You"
"Roxanne"
"King of Pain"
"So Lonely"
"Every Breath You Take"
"Next To You"

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

thanks for the feedback on the show. I was looking for a review in the OC register and only found reviews on the Dodger Stadium show Saturday and the Staples Center show on Wed. Well, Honda Center was in between.

i agree with most of your post. devastating show. i'm glad they let Andy cut loose and Stewart proved why he is an inspiration for 20 years worth of drummers.

i sat just to the right of the three camera operators behind the sound board, about 5 rows back.

again, great show!! i would've paid 2X what i did to see it.