Police concert

The Police concert in MSG yesterday was excellent. I'm not a fan, so I didn't know all the songs they played, but I did of course recognize the big hits. The band re-arranged many of their songs, which made the show more interesting - they didn't just play what you've hard on the albums. Some of the re-worked songs were more successful than others (Roxanne was great, but I did not care for the new form of "Don't Stand So Close To Me") - but the effort showed the band feels they still own the material. The stadium was packed and most people there were in their thirties or forties - one of the few concerts where I felt age-appropriate.

Things that surprised me: Sting downplayed his superstar status and gave a lot of credit and stage space to Andy and Stewart; and Andy's guitar playing was phenomenal. I had no idea Andy was such a good player and many of the solos rocked. Also, a lot of people left early to catch a train back to Long Island or New Jersey - why, o why would you pay hundreds of dollars for a ticket and then leave early? Get a hotel or crash on a friends sofa!

An enterprising soul has already made an audience recording available on DimeADozen so I'll be listening to the show again.