So around lunchtime yesterday, Scott IMed me with some Big News: a co-worker of his was looking to unload two tickets to The Police concert at Oakland Coliseum. Did we want to go?
HELL YES!
The Police broke up before I started going to concerts, so I always assumed I'd never have the chance to see them live. Then, when they announced their "30th Anniversary tour" I figured there'd be no way I'd manage to snag tickets. Instead, the tickets came to us. Nice how that worked out.
I didn't have time to do much planning, and cameras weren't allowed anyway, so this is the best I could do for a photo:
I'd never been to a stadium concert before, and the sheer size of the venue was definitely a drawback. But other than that -- and the absolutely horribly bad opening act -- we had a fantastic time. Wikipedia has a full set list, if you're interested in that sort of thing.
Despite Stewart Copeland's grousing, the band sounded very tight and polished to me. There were one or two moments when I thought I caught a bobble as the band transitioned into the next song, but other than that, they played extremely well for just short of two hours, including encores. Sting had to work fairly hard to get the audience energy up (I think this is where the stadium size was an issue) but the last 40 minutes or so was a big rock-out.
In short, if you get a chance to catch the tour, do so. It's worth it.
Comments (4)
I agree. Great show. I looked on Craig's list the after noon before the show and found one ticket looking for a fan. I got in touch with the guy and was delighted to catch the show. Glad to hear that you enjoyed it as well.
Posted by mediumtall | June 14, 2007 11:51 PM
What a great seredipitous event for you!
I saw the Police in a Day on the Green festival in 83 (I think, or maybe 82). Had to wait all day for them but they were worth it.
Sting must've been power tripping at the time because he fooled around with the audience, telling them to look left, then look right, etc.
And there was something quite novel at the time: backstage cameras, so when the band took their break, you could see them up on a giant screen, drinking and fooling around with tea pots. They also did some schtick like the Beatles would've.
I didn't realize they kept people off the baseball diamond area like that.
Thanks for the link to the set list - I was interested in that.
Posted by Melinda Casino | June 15, 2007 9:01 AM
The opening act we saw was actually the second act - The Fratellis. Suckiest bunch of suckers that ever sucked.
Sting's son Joe Sumner apparently leads the band that was on before them - Fiction Plane. Unfortunately, we got there too late to see them. Oh well.
Posted by Skawt | June 15, 2007 2:28 PM
I checked out Fiction Plane, they sound good and are on my CD list now. Cheers.
Posted by Melinda Casino | June 16, 2007 7:32 AM