on 8/7/08, the final police tour will end. after that, andy, stewart, & sting will officially disband (something they never got around to doing 25 years ago, when they originally stopped working together). sting is the reason why; although he seemed to enjoy playing with andy when we saw him at pine knob (or whatever it's called these days), he has already said that he has no interest in writing more police songs, or in appearing together as the police following that august performance.indeed. by all indications, this tour is a gift to andy & stewart - sort of a going away/semi-retirement present. and why not? andy is in his 60's; sting & stewart are well into their 50's. all look their age (sting could still beat the crap out of bruce willis), but we're pleased to report that their chops are intact (unlike a poorly rehearsed performance at their rock & roll hall of fame induction). this wasn't some sad, money-grubbing reunion gig played by has-beens - this was a band at the peak of their powers, even playing new arrangements of favorite songs sans backup singers or other visible means of support. 3 instruments, 3 very different men, 2 hours of memories, and 15,000 fans dancing & singing in the michigan night.
they even hit the big O during andy's so lonely guitar solo - something that you very rarely hear bands strive for, these days (and which we're pretty sure that half of them have never even heard of). something bigger than the sum of their parts.
when i was 19 or so, the band that i was with at the time - lyghthouse - added every police number that we could to our sets (along with my first, fumbling attempts at original songs). unlike the queen, billy joel, cars, and ac/dc covers that we played, police numbers were a stretch, from stewart's reggae-influenced rhythms to andy's fx-heavy gypsy guitar and sting's offbeat bass parts & stratospheric vocals, less is more became a musical mantra that i still strive to follow. (plus the songs were a lot of fun, guaranteed to get pretty girls out on the dance floor, where we could see down their tops from up on the stage.)
although all 3 will go back to doing good work on their own, it still feels like comparing wings to the beatles. maybe it's best that way - that they go out, again, on a high note, with 5 remarkable albums as their legacy, rather than becoming yet another band that plays the same old songs the same old way, until it's puppets & spinal tap time.
maybe it's better that they go the python route, after all. yo!!
