by razorboy on 30 Dec 2011 03:54
this is the crummy reality of it - the police's popularity is tied to big spending fans/promoters who want the exact opposite of what most of us want to hear: big hits and singles. i'd love to see the band take the approach of the whiskey announcement/"gig", which was the loosest, most "real" moment of 2007-2008, but i know that isn't going to happen. the band played the same tightly rehearsed and coreographed set after the first couple weeks of the synchronicity tour for the *entire* stretch, and then, 23 years later, did the exact same thing. as long as sting and his management are in charge, nothing will change, and as samburu said, i'd rather see the band mothballed than sit through a repeat of tourzilla.
it makes me sad to say it, but the police ceased being "fan-friendly" a long time ago. it would take a sea change of monumental proportions for the band to do anything other than repeat 07-08. a b-sides tour, a fluid setlist, odd stewart/andy songs thrown in - in other words, the things hardcore fans would love the most - are pure fantasy. sting is a control freak, a dick, and completely out of ideas.
"i have to fake it when i deal with the system..."