Hoishey in the house! The Flag hits Chocolate Town USA

[bella]

Thanks for your undies avatar, Conroy. Tee hee.

[Johnny O]

Here's a vanilla review of the GREAT Hershey show!!!

http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Arc ... p_docnum=5


I think the writting doesn't do justice to the awesome performance.

[bella]

I can't get the page to load, Johnny. =(

[tonydrums]

Page no worky, Johnny O.

[policerule]

[quote] DM: Man, that Flag is fucking obnoxious, isn't it?!? No wonder Sting gets all twisty looking when he sees it.
[/quote]

have we actually seen or heard that sting's hemp undies are in a twist over it? i'd be curious to know how is is really reacting.

[bella]

THIS IS MY RECAP OF THE EVENING, WHICH I ALSO POSTED ON TP.COM. I don't really have a review of the show, as it's obvious that I loved it:

Hello all. Hershey was fantastic!! Here's a bullet list as I can't keep myself straight otherwise.

-It was me, my mother, big sister and my niece. We got there around 2pm, couldn't check into the hotel so we drove to the park and my niece and I walked up to the wide open gate (Andy side) a couple of times and said hi to the very cute security guard, but no sitings.

-came back around 4:15 and right away spotted those red balloons (Tp.com tailgater party) right next to the Sting-side gate and parked near them.

-Met Amy/Samburu and Schmaff and Arecev and I think Matt? I don't remember his name, but I have to thank him for telling my sister and mother where me and my niece were when they came looking for us. THANKS! I met other's, but I can't remember their names. Everyone was really nice and very excited about the show, so that's what counts, right?

-Heard some tunage and, as was said before, we all ran to the gate to hear the soundcheck and do a little stewspotting. That was so exciting. Lots of people came and went and it was just about as exciting as actually seeing the show.

-Talked to the guard at the Sting-side gate after sound check ended and asked where the guys were. He pointed to the Andy-side, to a green roofed building, so my niece and I walked around to that side of the stadium. Saw that same cute security guard as before and started talking to him. I asked if he'd seen any of the band or if he even knew what they looked like (he was a youngin'). I think he only knew who Sting was, of course, but he hadn't seen anyone.

-Then, I saw Seton from Fiction Plane walk out of their dressing room, which was easily visible through the gate and opened onto a porch. I called out to him, but he was just getting on his cellphone, so he turned to look in our direction, but then turned back to go toward the stage for their sound check, which we listened to with joy and anticipation.

-After the sound check we saw Joe and I called out hello to him (the security guard had the gate open to let someone in) and he waved and said hello back. My niece, who has never seen them before was instantly smitten with Joe. He's a cutey. So, we vowed not to leave the gate until the show was about to start. The niece got a couple calls from her mother asking where we were. I think she was just jealous. tee hee.

We were determined to stay there until the show was about to start as were hoping for more band sitings. Saw lots of Seton on the cell and Joe standing around, but we didn't want to bother them, just wanted to stare a bit. =) Lots of folks walking to the stadium stopped and asked if we saw anything. This was a busy gate, being opened and closed for a lot of people with passes, crew members, park employees. I think we talked to everyone involved in this show and then some!! Everyone was very nice.

-okay, so we get in the stadium to our seats, which were the section grandstand section on Andy's side. We could go to the end of the stands and look over into the backstage area and see everything that was going on. Could see the building with their dressing rooms and the Fiction Plane milling about down there. Said hello to Pete, the drummer, and told him to have a great show. He smiled waved back and said "thank you", looking quite happy to be recognized.

-We got lots of recognition ourselves for our t-shirts, which you can see in the link below. The volunteers were taking pictures for us and talking to us about everything. I swear, everyone there was so nice! We then met this very nice couple sitting in front of us who were their for their 35th wedding anniversary. They were from Syracuse and the trip was a present from their kids!! How cool is that?

-Show starts and the niece is again instantly smitten with Fiction Plane. Loves their tunes. Wants to go meet them, so I knew better and we left during the last song to make it down to the back of the stadium. Let me tell you. It was very moshpitish back there once those boys showed up. I couldn't believe it. Everyone in line, or in mosh, was very nice and excited to meet them. We finally get up there and they are the sweetest guys. Signed my heart (see pics) and the niece's cd. I think she took the best pic of those boys that I've ever seen. I just have to get her to send it to me so I can add it to my photosite.

-We just finished with FP when I heard the Marley song and new it was time to book it back to our seats. I can't believe we got back to our seats so fast, although we just missed the gong as we were climbing the steps. But that's okay. It all made up for it.

-Not one person sat down in my entire section or for as far as my eye could see. Everyone was singing the tunes and yelling and screaming. It was fantastic fun. My niece then tells me that she thinks Stewart is so cute and loves his headband. I knew it. He's just infectious with that smile of his and just the fact that he's stated he's a bigger fan of the Police than anyone, makes him more lovable.

-Okay, gotta give a "HELL YES!" for the Copelandia Flag being acknowledged by the man himself as well as being picked out on the jumbotron. What a great moment that was. I was thrilled to see it and started yelling "There's my flag! There's my flag!" as if it belonged to me. Got a picture of it for my fellow Copelandia friends and I hope everyone enjoys seeing it at all the shows, too.

-At one point, I remember thinking to myself "Who is talking?" Well, it was Sting, but he sure sounded like he had a toad in his throat. His vocals were great, though. Man, I love this band.

-Show was over and I didn't realize how bummed I would be as that was the last show for me. I could just cry, really. I hope for more. I really do.

-Got back to the car to find Amy and one more brief visit with the Flag to sign it again. I also had her take a picture of me with it as I forgot to do that when I was at the Dodger Stadium show. Can you believe that? Silly me.

-Last but not least and not even related, got out of the parking lot in pretty good time. Time enough to make it to Borders at midnight for my niece to get in line for Harry Potter and we didn't leave there until 2 freaking 30 a.m.!! yeah, you know I love that kid (well, she's 20) if I'm willing to do that. Mom and I sat in the car while the niece and her mom stood in line. Every once in a while we would hear someone come out of the store yelling and shrieking that they got their book. It was pretty cute, I must say.

-Alas, that is my tale and now for the evidence.

http://pgbella.zenfolio.com/p535691571/

I am going to go cry myself to sleep tonight. I don't know how long this withdrawal is going to last, but it is just bringing back those teenage feelings like it was just yesterday.

sigh...

[DirtyMartini]

Thanks for the report, Bella!

ETA: PRule, only Stewart could say for sure. I don't know about other folks' experiences, but both Moeskido and I have noticed a twinge of -- chafing perhaps? -- at spotting the flag in Cleveland/a flag arrow in Philly.

Of course, it could just be giving him indigestion.

[samburusunset]

[quote="policerule"][quote] DM: Man, that Flag is fucking obnoxious, isn't it?!? No wonder Sting gets all twisty looking when he sees it.
[/quote]

have we actually seen or heard that sting's hemp undies are in a twist over it? i'd be curious to know how is is really reacting.[/quote]

I've never seen any panty lines under those black pants. And...ahem... I think one would notice them.

[Johnny O]

That's weird... The Harrisburg/Hershey paper's website has time limits on its stories' links... Here is what the review said:

Every little thing they did was MAGIC // Reunited trio has fans eager for standards

Fans seemed to anticipate the Police show last night at Hersheypark Stadium with a blend of excitement and dread.

Would the band be great, as it was during its 1980s heyday?

Or have the members lost a little something, having been apart since an acrimonious breakup in 1983?

Press reviews have been generally positive, but drummer Stewart Copeland skewered the band's performance a few dates into the current tour as being less than stellar.

No worries. The sold-out crowd heard bassist-singer Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and Copeland -- all looking ridiculously fit -- play for a solid two hours-plus with as much fire, intensity and capability as in their younger days, with only a few small steps lost.

Beginning with "Message in a Bottle" and the vivid tale of corporate drones that is "Synchronicity II," the band flourished its greatest strengths -- Sting's supple voice and penchant for playing with the beat, Summers' icy-cool shimmers and Copeland's complex cornucopia of percussion tricks.

Sting went in and out on high notes throughout, sometimes tackling them with assertiveness, sometimes taking things down a more comfortable step or two.

A beautifully syncopated "Walking on the Moon," with plenty of call-and-response singing and trademark ee-yo-yos, was followed by a medley of "Voices Inside My Head" and "When The World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around," Sting pounding out the bass line with swagger.

It was obvious the band wanted to try out new arrangements -- they played very few songs exactly as written, and freely jammed for extended periods, keeping them familiar and renewing them at the same time.

The student-teacher love affair of "Don't Stand So Close To Me" was the first track to have a certain sense of reminiscence -- it was less strident, more the quiet tones of an older man remembering his youth.

The pointed message of "Driven To Tears," marked by some terrific wailing by Summers (who was stellar) was perhaps more meaningful now than when it was written.

"Truth Hurts Everybody" may have been slowed down a touch, perhaps the better to lead into a wistful take on "The Bed's Too Big Without You," buoyed by their customary reggae groove and devilishly complex counter-rhythms.

"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," too, was more thoughtful musically, more light on its feet. Sting gave the high notes a thorough try but fell just a tad flat.

But he rebounded smartly on a beautifully stately "Wrapped Around Your Finger," which was given a more staccato, almost Middle Eastern feel.

Copeland went through a real workout on that track, playing just about everything in sight in his massive percussion arsenal.

A lilting "De Doo Doo Doo, De Da Da Da" led into a languid but gorgeous "Invisible Sun," and Sting had no trouble on the high ones at all in "Walking in Your Footsteps," companionably jamming with Summers at the end.

The sharply snotty "I Can't Stand Losing You" could have been edited a bit to its former punky state, as it was a bit long.

And to hear the signature "Roxanne" with the full band, after years of watching Sting do it in his solo gigs, was nothing short of magic. It might get played an awful lot, but come on -- it's "Roxanne."

And they added a middle section of jamming that only built the tension to the final chorus.

A brief walk offstage and they were back for "King of Pain," with its enigmatic imagery, a ripping "So Lonely" that paired reggae bounce with punk thrash, and a very well-sung "Every Breath You Take," Sting perfectly fine on every octave.

Another quick break, and the reunited trio wrapped with a dense and still energetic "Next To You" before taking a hands-joined bow. Will their hands stay joined in a musical sense when the tour ends? No one can say, but to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers share a stage again, for good or for now, was plenty good enough.

Sting's son, Joe Sumner, fronted openers Fiction Plane.

He looks a bit like his dad. He plays bass and sings, like his dad. The band is a trio, like his dad's. On high notes, especially on the wry "Drink" and the tongue-in-cheek "Two Sisters," he sounds eerily like his dad. He jumps off speaker cabinets like his dad.

Nature or nurture? You do the math. He's got a way to go, but he's pretty firmly on his way.

KIRA L. SCHLECHTER: 257-4763 or kschlechter@patriot-news.com

[bella]

Thanks for posting that, Johnny!