KEY POINTS:
Classic rock band The Police are in the country, with their first gig in Wellington tonight and a show in Auckland on Saturday. What can Kiwi fans expect from Sting and co? Everything you'd expect from the band that made hits like Roxanne and Message in a Bottle famous, judging from recent shows.
As fans up and down the country eagerly await their arrival, we take a peek at what reviewers have made of the tour so far...
The New York Times - Nate Chinen
During their exultant encore at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, the Police played songs from their first and last albums, released only five years apart. For the few people in the arena who weren't singing along, it was a reminder of the actual brevity of this band's reign.
The tour, which has been going all summer, bypasses this drama to get to the heart of what was there, and still is, among the three players: a lean and flexible group dynamic, spring-loaded with vital tensions. It seems the only rigid thing about the reincarnated Police is their set list, which hasn't changed substantially from one city to the next. (Sting has sung those modified lyrics on more than one occasion, too.)
Sting was in superb voice as a singer, and in fine form as a bassist he guides the band from both extremes of register and he appeared almost suspiciously well preserved.
CTV.ca
A melodic, sensual version of "Wrapped Around Your Finger" featured 64-year-old Summers's strengths with the guitar riffs, 54-year-old Copeland's drumming prowess and Sting's magic on the bass, eliciting some of the biggest crowd reaction.
Most of the songs were rearranged only slightly and arguably better than their original versions.
The Police churned out a total of 21 hits during the concert, four during its encore that included "King of Pain," "So Lonely," "Every Breath You Take" and ending with a hard-rocking version of "Next to You," fitting for a crowd that had clearly bonded with the band.
Rolling Stone - Charles Cross
If professional musicianship was always the hallmark that made the Police a success, it was again evident as they gave new life to well-known hits, removing the reggae-lilt of "Roxanne," and replacing it with a slowed jazzier tempo.
Still, when the Police encored with "King of Pain," "Every Breath You Take," and a finale of "Next to You," these familiar but resurrected hits were delivered with the kind of conviction that originally made the Police the sincere rock band you could love without guilt.
The set list for their last gig in Puerto Rico, December 2007 evolved with the following. If this is anything to go by, the old classics such as "Every Breath You Take" "So Lonely' and "Roxanne", will ensure Police fans are in for a treat. For the more adventurous out there, the mix of arrangements should equally come as a pleasant surprise; after all it has been 23 years.
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
Hole In My Life
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
Roxanne
King Of Pain
So Lonely
Every Breath You Take
Next To You
- NZHERALD STAFF
