Milwaukee: "Arresting performance"
Posted: 26 Jul 2008 22:48Sheez. I wish these copywriters would come up with some non-lame descriptions of the band for headlines...but the review itself is great.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=776684
[quote]But even after many months on the road together Sting, drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers still appear to be having a blast. They are knocking themselves out and loving it. Two songs into their set, Sting was already starting to sweat through his pullover. I’ve seen Sting often as a solo act and I’ve never seen him as relaxed and engaging as he was Friday night. Although they’ve both gone gray and lined, Sting and Copeland appear remarkably fit. Sometimes their energy and force of personality makes it easy to overlook Summers, but then he’ll rip off a stunning solo as he did on “Can’t Stand Losing You,” and his importance in the trio is reaffirmed.
Of course, good chemistry will only take you so far if the music can’t hold a crowd. Fortunately, in their rather brief history The Police assembled a memorable and remarkably diverse array of hits and most of them made the cut Friday. They may have started out as a punk band with a gift for reggae rhythms, but the songwriting and the musicianship go well beyond that, embracing the best of pop and rock seasoned with jazz and world beat elements. Themes, tempos and perspectives vary wildly. There is for instance the high-velocity swagger of “Demolition Man,” the jubilant nonsense of “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da,” the taboo eroticism of “Don’t Stand So Close to Me,” the collective alienation of “Message in a Bottle,” the tiki bar percussion of “Wrapped Around Your Finger,” and the playful romanticism of “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.”[/quote]
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=776684
[quote]But even after many months on the road together Sting, drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers still appear to be having a blast. They are knocking themselves out and loving it. Two songs into their set, Sting was already starting to sweat through his pullover. I’ve seen Sting often as a solo act and I’ve never seen him as relaxed and engaging as he was Friday night. Although they’ve both gone gray and lined, Sting and Copeland appear remarkably fit. Sometimes their energy and force of personality makes it easy to overlook Summers, but then he’ll rip off a stunning solo as he did on “Can’t Stand Losing You,” and his importance in the trio is reaffirmed.
Of course, good chemistry will only take you so far if the music can’t hold a crowd. Fortunately, in their rather brief history The Police assembled a memorable and remarkably diverse array of hits and most of them made the cut Friday. They may have started out as a punk band with a gift for reggae rhythms, but the songwriting and the musicianship go well beyond that, embracing the best of pop and rock seasoned with jazz and world beat elements. Themes, tempos and perspectives vary wildly. There is for instance the high-velocity swagger of “Demolition Man,” the jubilant nonsense of “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da,” the taboo eroticism of “Don’t Stand So Close to Me,” the collective alienation of “Message in a Bottle,” the tiki bar percussion of “Wrapped Around Your Finger,” and the playful romanticism of “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.”[/quote]