Cool Stu review
Posted: 20 Jun 2007 21:24I guess I could've posted this on the Phoenix thread but I wanted to make sure a lot of people saw this.
Bill Goodykoontz normally reports about T.V. for the A.Z. Republic but he did go to the show and filed this report. I figured what he says about Stuart will bring some smiles.
Goodyblog
All about pop culture: TV, music, movies and whatever else people are talking about.
The Police: older. Wiser?
I will leave the musical critique of the Police show in Phoenix last night to my colleague Larry Rodgers, who thought the band played around with their old hits with varying degrees of success. I agree -- some stuff worked, some didn't. I certainly wasn't hoping for a sludgy version of Don't Stand So Close To Me, for instance.
I will make this observation, though: back in the day, Sting was the most interesting thing about the band. Now he's the least interesting. Stewart Copeland is just a beast. When you leave most concerts you want to go off and be a guitar player, or maybe a singer. Leave a Police show and you want to be a drummer. Man, Copeland was just great.
Anyway, in his review Larry points out an interesting dilemma all these guys face when they tour: are you a nostalgia act or a relevant band?
The Police try to have it both ways. You can understand how Sting might want to sing a different version of Roxanne after so many years. You probably don't want to keep doing your job the exact same way every day for 30 years.
On the other hand, you probably haven't gotten rich enough to buy castles in your job, either. And most of us can't get people to shell out cash to watch us work.
So which were the Police? Oldies act? Meaningful band? A little of both, but I think you have to go more strongly with the former. Even the ancient Rolling Stones usually manage to crank out a new album before they start their massive tours. They'll always make a token effort of playing a couple of the new songs in concert, making them feel relevant and giving the audience a chance to hit the concession stand or the bathroom before they go into Honky Tonk Women or whatever.
For the Police, it was all oldies. No new songs, just new takes on old songs. I'm sure it makes Sting feel more self-important than he already does, if such a thing is possible. For everyone else? Eh. I dunno.
I hate the way classic rock radio plays the same tired songs to death. I like to think that I keep current with new bands, and can't stand it when people act like no good music has been made since the Beatles went their separate ways. It's just wrong -- listen to the new Spoon CD for proof.
Having said all that, I found myself at the Police show wanting to hear the hits the way I remembered them. Is that fair to the band? I don't know. Probably not. But it can't be helped.
They look older now. Like the rest of us.
Bill Goodykoontz normally reports about T.V. for the A.Z. Republic but he did go to the show and filed this report. I figured what he says about Stuart will bring some smiles.
Goodyblog
All about pop culture: TV, music, movies and whatever else people are talking about.
The Police: older. Wiser?
I will leave the musical critique of the Police show in Phoenix last night to my colleague Larry Rodgers, who thought the band played around with their old hits with varying degrees of success. I agree -- some stuff worked, some didn't. I certainly wasn't hoping for a sludgy version of Don't Stand So Close To Me, for instance.
I will make this observation, though: back in the day, Sting was the most interesting thing about the band. Now he's the least interesting. Stewart Copeland is just a beast. When you leave most concerts you want to go off and be a guitar player, or maybe a singer. Leave a Police show and you want to be a drummer. Man, Copeland was just great.
Anyway, in his review Larry points out an interesting dilemma all these guys face when they tour: are you a nostalgia act or a relevant band?
The Police try to have it both ways. You can understand how Sting might want to sing a different version of Roxanne after so many years. You probably don't want to keep doing your job the exact same way every day for 30 years.
On the other hand, you probably haven't gotten rich enough to buy castles in your job, either. And most of us can't get people to shell out cash to watch us work.
So which were the Police? Oldies act? Meaningful band? A little of both, but I think you have to go more strongly with the former. Even the ancient Rolling Stones usually manage to crank out a new album before they start their massive tours. They'll always make a token effort of playing a couple of the new songs in concert, making them feel relevant and giving the audience a chance to hit the concession stand or the bathroom before they go into Honky Tonk Women or whatever.
For the Police, it was all oldies. No new songs, just new takes on old songs. I'm sure it makes Sting feel more self-important than he already does, if such a thing is possible. For everyone else? Eh. I dunno.
I hate the way classic rock radio plays the same tired songs to death. I like to think that I keep current with new bands, and can't stand it when people act like no good music has been made since the Beatles went their separate ways. It's just wrong -- listen to the new Spoon CD for proof.
Having said all that, I found myself at the Police show wanting to hear the hits the way I remembered them. Is that fair to the band? I don't know. Probably not. But it can't be helped.
They look older now. Like the rest of us.
