The Police at the Staples Center

Stewart Copeland signing autographs at NAMM.

I was not slick enough to sneak my camera in, but that would change in Anaheim.

I have to admit I was a little shellshocked by seeing The Police in Las Vegas. I was looking forward to the Staples show because I could more objectively review the show.

Fiction Plane opened yet again. I would venture to say that about 15% of the Staples Center were actually in their seat when they appeared on stage at exactly 7:30. Joe Sumner (Bass,Vocals) did manage to mention that they were playing the Viper room in a few days. It still isn't sold out. I would expect a band that opens for The Police to be able to sell out at least The Wiltern. If you see them, they have one song that cops the intro from Blink-182 "What's My Age Again".

The intro music before The Police was impressive. It included Interpol, Cold War Kids, Arcade Fire, CSS, and The Killers. I think any of those bands could have opened. "Get Up, Stand Up" blared over the speakers and the crowd reacted in kind. I have to give the edge to the Vegas crowd in terms of energy and buzz. The Los Angeles crowd didn't seem too excited but they could have been shellshocked as well. Sting (Bass,Vocals) seemed to have more energy tonight and was walking around the stage a bit more as well as interacting with Andy Summers (Guitars) quite a bit. Andy was better tonight with his solos. The solo for "Voices Inside My Head" was more focused and didn't seem to meander as much compared to Vegas. "Truth Hits Everybody" included some splendid guitarwork from Andy and featured a capo on his second fret. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" hit a slight stumble as Sting's voice cracked in a few places. Sting recovered very nicely though and had no other blips during the show. "Invisible Sun" needs to be sped up. It is such a great song, but I wish they could increase the tempo just a bit. Stewart Copeland was his dynamic self. I feel that watching Stewart Copeland is worth the ticket price alone and I don't even drum. Sting did the obligatory introduction of the band by saying, "Stewart this is Andy" and "Andy this is Stewart". The band jumped out of the gate better tonight but I feel the crowd's lack of energy mared the performance. One of the funnier events of the night was my friend texted me during "Roxanne" saying they were going to sit down for this one. It is still a great song but I couldn't help but chuckle. "King Of Pain" was excellent and makes a nice transition in the setlist before they do an outstanding rendition of "So Lonely". I only hope that the Anaheim crowd would be more energetic.

The Police setlist for the Staples Center (6/20/07)
"Message In A Bottle"
"Synchronicity II"
"Walking on the Moon"
"Voices Inside My Head"
"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"