Concert review: The Police at American Airlines Center

by Gary Cohen

DALLAS — Approximately 25 years after their last Dallas appearance, The Police returned for the first of two shows at the American Airlines Center. Reunion shows of this nature always produce cognitive dissonance for me. Never having seen The Police before, I wanted to have the opportunity to see one of their concerts, knowing all the while that it wasn't exactly 1980. Or 1983. And with ticket prices at obscene levels, it was impossible for the show to live up to the ticket price.

After a mediocre opening set by Fiction Plane, featuring Joe Sumner, son of Sting, the Police took the stage as the PA played Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up." The stage was roundish and simple, with a raised platform around the back edge for Sting and Andy Summers to prance around for the benefit of the fans seated behind the stage. The band then proceeded to play essentially a greatest hits show, which is exactly what you would expect with a show of this nature.

To their credit, the band didn't just regurgitate their parade of hits like a giant jukebox. Instead, they rearranged most of the songs, giving them a different live feel to the studio album versions ingrained in everyone's brains. The new arrangements weren't drastically different though, as each song bore enough similarity to the original version so as not to be unsettling to the audience. Sometimes the new arrangements worked well, such as on "Walking On The Moon," which built to a concluding Andy Summers guitar jam. Other times, like with a herky-jerky "Synchronicity II," the new arrangements weren't as successful.

All three band members played well and Sting's voice sounded like he was 25. Still, the concert, while enjoyable, didn't quite have the energy level of a top-notch live show. It's tempting to blame the not-so-young audience for being too mellow, or to dismiss the missing energy as a by-product of an older band. However, I have seen a number of bands in The Police's age bracket fairly recently that all had that missing energy component. Springsteen, Rush, Elvis Costello, even Echo and the Bunnymen - all these bands put on a superlative live show despite their relative dinosaur status. Or, in The Police's own world, it's like the difference between the first disc and the second disc of The Police Live! Still, there were some nice moments, like the "Regatta de Blanc" interlude in the middle of "Can't Stand Losing You," and the show closing "Next To You."

Some other observations:

- All three band members have preserved well and look good, although my wife did comment that Sting looks a lot sexier if you ignore his lower half.

- The words "Oh my God, I killed Kenny" were written along Summers' guitar strap.

- The fact that Stewart Copeland played a cool collection of odd percussion instruments set up behind his drum kit during "Wrapped Around Your Finger" didn't make this song suck any less than it usually does.

- Message to the guy in front of me dressed in a Blues Brothers-esque outfit, complete with sunglasses, who played air guitar throughout the show: You are a toolbag.

- If you want to go to the Wednesday night show, I bet you can get good tickets for cheap. Scalpers appear to be taking a bath with the addition of a second show, the stormy weather, and the release by Ticketmaster of tons of good seats over the last few days.

- The tour setlist has remained pretty much constant, with the exception of "Spirits In The Material World" and "Murder By Numbers" dropping off at some point. Here is the setlist for the first Dallas show:

Message In A Bottle

Synchronicity II

Walking On The Moon

Voices Inside My Head / When The World Is Running Down

Don't Stand So Close To Me

Driven To Tears

The Bed's Too Big Without You

Truth Hits Everybody

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

Wrapped Around Your Finger

De Do Do Do De Da Da Da

Invisible Sun

Walking In Your Footsteps

Can't Stand Losing You/Regatta de Blanc

Roxanne

ENCORE 1:

King of Pain

So Lonely

Every Breath You Take

ENCORE 2:

Next To You

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