The Police with Elvis Costello
Just recently The Police announced that they will be performing one final show as a band this summer in New York, letting fans all over the world know that this current tour is one last time to see them perform in your city and to have one final send off. Following last summer’s two buzz heavy shows at Wrigley Field, they returned this past Saturday night at Allstate Arena with Elvis Costello and the Imposters. While the Wrigley shows featured mixed reviews and opinions by the masses, did you think the band was better this time around after being back on tour for a while? Quite the double bill for XRT fans with Elvis Costello on the Chicago stop, and those who say the show should of at least enjoyed one of the performances. Tell us what you thought…
May 12th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I thought the show was better than Wrigley. Elvis rocked! I wish he would have played more. I was a little disappointed that Sting came out to sing Alison with Elvis. Sorry but Elvis does not need his help. I might have liked it if it was any other song but Alison - that is my all time favorite EC song. All in all it was a great show.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
The show was quite good. Nice mix of hits and newer stuff from EC and all hits from Sting and the boys. EC had an adorable smirk on his face the whole time, though I was disappointed that he didn’t have a monologue for us on Saturday. Highlight of the show was Steve Nieve — his organ was on fire Saturday.
Of the Police, only Sting looked genuinely happy to be there. Andy scowled through the first hour and Stew looked somewhat bewildered. Still, they all rocked as if the last 25 years hadn’t happened. An evening well spent.
May 13th, 2008 at 10:10 am
I’ve never really been into Costello. I saw him with Dylan at the Chicago Theatre during the winter. Dylan was lifeless and Costello was ok at best. Probably won’t be spending my money on another Elvis show.
May 13th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
I missed this weekend’s show cause I was out of town, but I was at the Dylan/Costello show a few months back. I agree Dylan was lifeless…shame on him for even touring. I don’t know how he sleeps at night taking money for that kind of performance. But I thought Elvis Costello was captivating. As an opener, he didn’t have much time on stage, but he used his time well and gave a great performance.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:15 am
I saw Bob Dylan in 2001…one of the worst concerts I’ve ever seen. I will never pay to see that garbage again….my grandpa sings better.
May 14th, 2008 at 10:19 am
No interest whatsoever after seeing The Police on stage at Wrigley last summer. Elvis is good historically, but there’s something about his new song you are playing I’m not sure I can handle. Great double bill, but would have been better 20 years ago.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Unfortunately, I think the sound was horrible for Elvis; I could barely make out the songs half the time. The last few songs were somewhat better.
The sound for Police was much better. I owuld have been upset if it was as bad as Elvis.
I was on the 100 level on the opposite end of the rink from the stage which I always thought was supposed to be a good spot for sound.
May 14th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Saw the police in 1984,was the best show i have seen.Great songs, play all the hits.Wrigley Field 2007 show sucked!Sat in the box seat for 140 bucks and Sting was two inches tall.Had to go last Saturday and paid 175 to sit in the 11th row,great show but they could have play more songs.Best three man band around!
May 14th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
I must have been on the same side as the rink because I thought the sound was terrible! Man…and I LOVE the Police!!!!!! Thank God for XRT’s eleventh hour after the show Saturday, otherwise I dont think I would have listened to another Police album ever! I have to agree about Elvis’ new song, its a little odd. Great bill, bad show. I think the critics must have had head phones listening to another show, because it def wasn’t the same one i was!
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Holy schneikes, what a show. I didn’t make it to Wrigley last year, but The Police were phenomenal (and Elvis was a treat). They were tight and played everything a fan could hope for, with some wrinkles to make the show interesting and unique.
That said, after hearing opinions about the consistently poor sound at Allstate, it took only two shows to confirm it. The Santana concert a month earlier was tinny, Costello often was barely audible and even some of The Police songs seemed muffled. I’d kill to see them at a small club or theater designed for live music.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:56 pm
This is a ‘Reunion Tour’ done right! Too often reviews (or blogs) about The Police 2007/2008 reunion shows in Chicago (or any other city) immediately adopt the tried and true tone of skepticism. Add to that the name “Sting”, and the skepticism turns downright morose.
Sadly for those dishing it, the baggage associated with “Stingnicity” simply proves the guy has done so many things, and done them painfully well. Conquer the world several times over you say (having forged into the most remote corners of the world a rock band has ever trekked)? Done. Successful (both creatively and commercially) post-Police solo career? Done. Forerunner in the human rights and ecological cause crusade (I’m looking at you, Bono)? Done. Transition from music into mainstream acting before Jennifer Hudson was even born? Done. Ah what the heck…chart topping classical music album (lute, no less)? Done. No wonder the guy looked around and asked what would surprise himself and everyone else…Police reunion!
So, it also does not surprise me that the same music critics who flogged the post-Police horse so pathetically (ending every Sting solo album review with the pathetic mantra “if he’d only bring his old bandmates back…”). Well, we finally get a well-deserved Police fan ‘farewell party’, and it’s still not good enough for some. Here’s some of the tired old harpings, along with the reality that many critics want to ignore.
Ticket prices too high – Every show of the entire tour has had a three-tiered ticket hierarchy ($250, $90, $50). This is far from “overpriced gluttony” from an arena tour perspective. There is a price level here for everyone…from the religiously devout to the casual-stroller-down-80’s-memory-lane. Further, for every one of those that wants to cite how the band “must need the money” after all these years, what other reunion tours have adopted causes like Water Aid, Unitus, or donated a million bucks of their own money to a tree planting campaign in New York City? Sting makes the equivalent of an “Average Joe’s” respectful annual salary off the royalties to “Every Breath You Take” every week, so he didn’t need this tour for money. And by the way, (he didn’t have to but) he carved a nice little piece of that songwriting royalty out for his bandmates too (geez, what a pompous jerk, right)? So they didn’t need the money either. Why do it…the music, the fans, and closure. Period.
Set list – How many bands from 30 years ago whose career spanned a mere 5 studio albums can do a 2 hour set that is nothing but sing-along, arena friendly radio hits?! Oh yeah, and to shake up the second leg of the tour, they’ll pull out a few hits from the set and replace them with a few other hits. No worries…plenty to go ‘round, boys! Each of their studio albums was 99% rock solid, and the “filler” made you laugh out loud (humor-wise, not pity-wise) at the very least.
Stage show – Minimalist, exactly like the Police themselves. Less is more…even 30 years later This tour uses tasteful lighting, pre-requisite and omni-visible video screens, and video effects that serve not as bombast but as accent to the fully formed “product” itself. If a reunion tour needs bombast, spectacle, shock and/or awe to make it seem like something “special” is happening onstage, chances are the reunion was a bad idea in the first place.
Musicianship – Here’s the bottom line. These guys have a treasure trove of amazing songs, yet they can still play the hell out of them! Did they ever come out and give a “here’s an exact replica of the album” performance in the 70’s and 80’s? Nay. This band was doing doughnuts on the lawns of today’s jambands (who were still wetting their pants and wiping snot on their sleeves from their bedroom windows) back then. These songs have the skeletal structure of pure titanium, so let them tinker a bit with the clothes these songs don, in order to keep it interesting night after night. Further, if you’ve conquered the world already (and oh-by-the-way 30 years have passed), you don’t need to play with a missionary’s urgency that your life (and livelihood) depends on making new converts. It’s not them against the world anymore…it is them thanking the world for a great run back in the day. So no, they do not have the ferocity and urgency they did in 1979. As Stewart Copeland said, “we handed the keys to the kingdom over to U2 in 1986 (the last Amnesty show), now we want the keys back for a year or so”.
Appearance – Sure…older, grayer…30 years later. But can you name any other band that has aged this gracefully with members in their mid-50’s and 60’s? And by the way, they are all still alive and all part of the reunion! This simple mathematical interpretation of the word “reunion” seems to get lost on way too many bands (looking at you, Billy Corgan).
That said, by definition, a Police show has never been about perfection. Have any of the Police reunion shows I’ve seen (Wrigley, Allstate, Vegas) been the most “in-your-face-gut-bucket-life-affirming” shows I have ever seen? No. But they have achieved precisely what any reunion should do…transport the band and its fans back to what made them popular, successful and critically lauded in the first pace. That is, before critics could come up with anything more original than Sting-bashing. For Sting, Andy and Stewart, a fait accompli once again…without an ounce of pandering, compromise or shame.
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:48 pm
I saw this show a few weeks back at the Allstate Arena, and I thought the sound was good from where I was sitting, which was section 116 (mezzanine facing the stage). I thought the set list was decent, but I agree with some of the other folks in that it was a little short (about 95 minutes). If you are going to charge $95 to $250 - you should at least play for two hours!!! One other note - I did like the way they changed some of the arrangements on the songs…at least it was a little different.
As for Elvis - good, but short as well. Played many new tunes!!!
May 24th, 2008 at 9:48 am
I really enjoyed both shows. The sound got really after Elvis & the only negative about the Wrigley gig was the blatant nepotism of putting Fiction Plane (Sting’s son & Band). Veru much looking forward to My Morning Jacket ending their fall tour with two nights at The Chicago Theater. If you have any money left from the high priced police show, see MMJ!
May 24th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I won 4th Row tickets to this from WXRT–Thank You!–and have to agree -Allstate’s sound stinks! It was awful for Elvis -like a staticy radio–but definitely better for The Police. Being so close was fantastic visuallyif the people in front would sit down….
I never was a huge Police fans–was a good show but they did seem to be going through the motions…will think twice about ever going to Allstate again, though.
May 29th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I couldn’t make it to the concert on May 10th at Allstate because my Appendix Ruptured. Before I went in to surgery I was able to tell a friend where to find the tickets in my house, I figured someone has to go. I was so upset that I couldn’t make it, I love the Police and was so excited to see Elvis Costello. My friends that went said Elvis was terrific, and the Police were good, but it looked like they were sick of eachother. Reading everyones reviews made me think; I still would rather have been at a concert with poor sound then in the hospital. What saddens me most is this would have been my chance to see the Police together one last time.
May 30th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Just accept the fact that the Allstate is probably the worst place for a concert, mostly due to the lousy sound. Narrow hallways, small seats, rough sound, it’s no comparison to the United Center for arenas. Although, I went to see the Killers at the Sears Centre; now that place sucks for sound, even worse than Allstate.
June 14th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
I saw the Police in 1984 at what was then the Rosemont Horizon, as well as a number of other shows there over time. And the sound sucked then. Not surprised that the sound still is bad, even though the name Allstate is on the marquee. Face it, the building is just horrible for live music and will always be that way. Little wonder I haven’t gone to a concert there since the early 90’s.