To clarify:
The group played Roxanne because that was the first single that got them attention and this year marks it's 30th anniversary. This tour is basically to celebrate that milestone.
I got a chance to see the telecast of the announcement of the world tour from last Monday on VH1 Classic. The band played at The Whisky A-Go-Go which was also interspread with details regarding their world tour.
For the record, the band played the following songs:
Voices Inside My Head (segueing to)
When The World Is Coming Down, You've Got The Best Of What's Still Around
Can't Stand Losing You
Roxanne
Taylor Hawkins asked the band about whether they still have enough time to grow back their mullets. Amir ?uestlove Thompson from The Roots asked Sting if they were playing strictly Police material. Answer to first one...I don't think they really answered it (although Stewart really wanted Taylor to ask a drummer-type question). The answer to the second question was that they were strictly playing Police-only material.
The Whiskey gig was quite a revelation that these guys have definitely missed each other and are only happy to be playing together again, even if it meant yelling chord changes to each other to shake the rust off these pieces.
My personal speculation about all this is that this is Sting's way of mending fences with Stewart and Andy after that acrimonious hiatus/breakup. I think everyone is more mature to deal with things. Even Stewart now accepts his role as merely backing Sting behind the kit. All this is historic for kids who grew up on their music, myself included. Also, part of the concert's proceeds in the US will go to
Wateraid, which is an organization that provides potable water for countries that need it badly. I'm patiently waiting for the ticket sale day for my town...so psyched already.
Here's a transcript of the press release:
Exclusive: The Police Visiting Bonnaroo, Fenway On Reunion Tour
February 12, 2007, 9:00 AM ET
In what is destined to be an historic run, the Police will embark on their first tour in 23 years, beginning May 28 at the GM Arena in Vancouver, Billboard.com can exclusively reveal. As part of a tour that will play arenas and stadiums internationally through the end of the year, the band will also headline the June 16 date of the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tenn.
As expected, the tour will be produced worldwide by the Next Adventure in association with RZO Entertainment, under the direction of Arthur Fogel, president of TNA and chairman of global music for TNA parent Live Nation. Further details of the tour will be announced today (Feb. 12) during a press conference at the Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood, Calif.
The announcement comes in the wake of the Police's dynamic performance of "Roxanne" last night to open the Grammy Awards on CBS. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are the Police and we're back," Sting shouted as the group kicked into the song.
Talk of a Police 30th anniversary tour has been rampant in the previous weeks. Sources close to the tour exclusively tell Billboard.com that the plan is for the Police to tour North America through the first week of August, then play the U.K. and Europe, returning to North America in late October.
The rest of the world will follow, including Mexico, South America, Japan and possibly Australia and New Zealand through the end of the year. About 80 shows are currently on the books, including 24 cities in North America. There also is the possibility that the Police will play several stadiums both in the U.S. and abroad, but as of now Fenway Park in Boston is the only confirmed stadium date. No festivals other than Bonnaroo are currently planned.
Best Buy is the North American sponsor of the tour. Tickets will be scaled primarily at $225, $90 and $50. Tickets for Vancouver, Toronto (July 22) and Montreal (July 25) will go on sale Feb. 17. Other markets, including Boston and New York (Aug. 1 and 3), will go on sale Feb. 20. Ticketmaster will orchestrate a pre-sale through a newly created Police tour website a few days prior to the general public onsales. It is highly likely that the Police will be the top-grossing tour of 2007.
Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland split in 1984 following the release of their most successful album, "Synchronicity," although they regrouped for a handful of concerts in 1986 before breaking up for good.
The Police's lone public performance prior to the Grammys was at the band's 2003 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The group also played an impromptu set at Sting's 1992 wedding to Trudie Styler.
