The Police Review For Their Fenway Park Concert

Last night I was lucky enough to see The Police live in concert at the famed Fenway Park in Boston, MA. It was a show to remember.

I grew up in the 80's and always loved The Police so when I heard that they were going on tour this summer, I bought my tickets immediately. The trio sounded fantastic live, creating their signature reggae and punk-influenced music on stage under a mostly clear sky and humid night. The concert began with Message in a Bottle, Synchronicity II and then Walking on the Moon. A perfect choice.

I read a review a few weeks ago about one of their earlier concerts on this tour and the writer said they didn't sound like a band. Instead, they sounded like three separate musicians playing together having lost their entire interconnected feel. Knowing this going in, I was especially tuned in to hear any trace of this. I'm happy to report that they sounded like the awesome and cohesive band they were, and better, since they all seemed to have improved musically.

They were one and played as a band. You could just tell how comfortable they were with each other. And as the night progressed, they became even tighter. When Stewart Copeland played everything conceivable except the downbeat, yet the three managed to stay glued to the underlying groove, I was sure I was witnessing a band in the truest sense of the word.

Not only did they play as one cohesive band, but most traces of Sting's solo career were pleasingly missing. I am also a fan of Sting's solo music and have been to a few of his shows, but I wanted to hear The Police last night and I did. They didn't play any Sting tunes, a good decision. And Sting was humble and even inserted both Any Summers' and Stewart Copeland's names into a song.

I think what surprised me the most last night was Sting's ability to play the bass. Either I didn't realize how good he was all along, or he has done some serious improving over the last few years. As a bass player myself, I can appreciate just how good he is and I suspect he has improved quite a bit since the eighties. From slap bass to thumb-picking, and from solo riffs in the high register to heart-pounding low-note grooves, Sting was the master of his bass last night. And what amazed me even more was his awesome ability to play syncopated bass while singing harmonious tunes.

Sting's voice was great too. He hit all the high notes, and there were a lot of them, and nailed every vocal their songs required of him. For a while during the show I thought there was some background vocals just off the stage or maybe a soundtrack playing in the background, but it turned out to be the audience! Everyone seemed to know every word of every song. Sting would purposefully back off the microphone and the crowd would sing the rest of the lyric in unison. In numerous songs, he would sing the first part of the chorus and the crowd would sing the rest. It was a blast since I too knew all the words.

Stewart Copeland was unbelievably good. He played like a mad scientist who had nothing to prove. From the wicked snap of his snare to the booming bass drum, Copeland proved to me that his is still one of the best drummers around. His hands were lightening fast, often simply a blur. The beats and polyrhythms emanating from his drum kit were both mesmerizing and beautiful. Copeland also created some unique sounds on his large inventory of percussion instruments. He had chimes, gongs and a xylophone and masterfully jumped around among them all.

Andy Summers was dressed a little like one of the Beatles on Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club band album cover and played his famous full-sounded and multilayered chords perfectly. Summers had a few solos and ramped it up in each one. As the night progressed the band sounded more and more like one cohesive unit with Summers filling in the sound. In fact it was remarkable just how much sound three guys can produce. They knew exactly how to make it sound like there were seven or eight musicians up there.

They ended the concert with Roxanne, and then encored with King of Pain, So Lonely, Every Breath You Take and finally, Next To You.

Last night I was at times perfectly transported back to my youth while I took in the whole experience. There were many tunes that reminded me so clearly of earlier times in my life, and that nostalgia felt good. But then I would quickly remember that I was in 2007 and experiencing a timeless band that had the chops to prove it.