The Police at Dodger Stadium

The last time I was at Dodger Stadium for a concert was when Kiss and Smashing Pumpkins played on Halloween. My mini tour of The Police closed with a grand finale at Dodger Stadium. I hope everyone left early for the show because traffic was a nightmare. It took almost an hour just to get off the freeway. Since The Police already played to a capacity Staples center, I was hoping they would pull out something special for the 55,000 people in attendance at Dodger Stadium. What would they do? Let's find out.

I missed Fiction Plane due to traffic. I wasn't too disappointed but it would have been interesting to see the crowd's reaction to the band.

I arrived in my seat moments before Foo Fighters exploded on stage. Dave Grohl (Vocals/Guitars) has been a Foo Fighter longer then his duration as a member of Nirvana and has left quite the imprint on rock music. I remember seeing an MTV Cribs show with Dave Grohl showing off his Stewart Copeland drum kit. Dave mentioned throughout the show what an honor it was to be opening for the best band in the world as he proclaimed. The Foo Fighters ran through a veritable greatest hits collection that showcased their rock tunes. I was impressed by the Gibson hollowbody lake blue guitar that Dave Grohl was rocking out with. They managed to play one of my favorite Foo tunes "Stacked Actors" which must be tuned down to B due to the crushing guttural bowel shaking main riff that Dave and Chris Shiflett (Guitars) rock. Dave even managed to run into the crowd as he is known to do and was perched in the middle of the Dodger Stadium to the crowd's delight. I have seen the Foo Fighters many times and must say this was one of their more memorable sets.

I thought things would be different for The Police when I saw that Sting was wearing a black shirt instead of his normal white shirt. This would be the only difference throughout the night. Sting was in top form though and vocally was extremely song. I even noticed a few more bass notes incorporated into some of the songs compared to the other shows. Sting was on top of his game on this particular night. Andy Summers was having problems with his Candy Red Fender Stratocaster during the later parts of the show. Andy seemed to have cooled off considerably from the Anaheim show and struggled with a few of the solos. After listening to my bootleg of the show, I will go on record and say that the Anaheim show was the best. I was still hoping that "Spirits In The Material Wold" would resurface but no such luck. It made the trip worth it out to Las Vegas just to hear that song. It was still an exciting show being surrounded by thousands of people and the energy was high but it was not nearly as electric as Anaheim was. When Andy was having problems with his guitar, Sting jokingly told him, "try the red one". Stewart was dynamic as usual. I can only imagine what he used to drum like twenty some years ago. The show was also being filmed so it will be interesting to see if they release footage from the show. Overall this show was still good, but would have been better if they threw in some surprises. I have a feeling they will come back again.


The Police Setlist for Dodger Stadium (6/23/07)
"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"

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"

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"

The Police at the MGM Garden Arena

I was so far back I wouldn't have used my camera if I had it.

If you told me at the beginning of the year that I would see The Jesus & Mary Chain, Smashing Pumpkins and The Police in concert, I would have laughed. I still have hopes for Hum and Quicksand but I am not going to get greedy. It was surreal to walk into the MGM Garden Arena and see a merchandise booth stocked with The Police tour memorabilia.

"Hi!, We are Fiction Plane!" exclaimed Joe Sumner(Bass/Vocals). I wonder how much of the audience knows that Joe is Sting's son? I heard some unsavory comments from the crowd after they played their forty five minutes set. I could think of a thousand different bands that would have been better openers for the The Police, especially with the ticket prices as high as they are. I have to give Joe some credit as he tried to get the audience involved. While Joe did not inherit Sting's penchant for songwriting, Joe did a fairly good job with the basslines and did hit a few notes vocally that were in his father's range. My judgment could have been clouded by the fact that The Police would be onstage soon.

"Get Up, Stand Up" by Bob Marley blasted over the speakers as the lights dimmed. The buzz in the arena became palpable.The crowd obeyed and stood up out of their seats. "Message In A Bottle" was the first of many delights of the night. It was quickly followed by "Synchronicity II" featuring an extended Andy Summers solo with his "Who Killed Kenny?" South Park Guitar strap. "Spirits in the Material World" was divine as Stewart Copeland's arms looked like a blur behind his drum kit. "Walking On The Moon" had some nice tremolo work on the solo by Andy Summers. "Everything She Does Is Magic" was spectacular in watching Andy work his finger picking magic on his candy apple red Stratocaster running through some Mesa Boogie Cabinets. Andy seemed to have some technical problems since he called to his guitar tech a number of times during the set. I did notice though that he was not doing his own pedal switching. Sting was magnificent on the bass. Aspiring bassists should take notes on his economy of movement. Sting barely moved his right hand all night as he rested his fingers on the bridge of the bass while plucking along. "Wrapped Around Your Finger" had a slowed down intro and alternate percussion as Stewart Copeland was perched on a riser banging on a variety of cymbals and chimes. "Invisible Sun" was the song I really wanted to hear the most. It also not a coincidence that Hum used to cover this song live. Sting's voice sounded great during the song. "Roxanne" and "Every Breath You Take" were performed very close to the original recordings. I was not surprised when the whole arena lit up red during "Roxanne". I was amazed that a large portion of the crowd started to leave prior to the first encore. The show clocked in at two hours. It seemed like it was twenty minutes.

The Police setlist for the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas(6/15/07)
"Message in a Bottle"
"Synchronicity II"
"Don't Stand So Close"
"Voices Inside My Head"
"When the World is Running Down"
"Spirits in the Material World"
"Driven to Tears"
"Walking on the Moon"
"Truth Hits Everybody"
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"
"Wrapped Around Your Finger"
"The Bed Is Too Big"
"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"