BoomerGirl Diary

All the years I owned my concert catering company, I fed the Police and Sting close to a dozen times. I was already a big fan of the Police, so when I actually got to meet them I was thrilled. They were different from a lot of the other rock bands of the 80’s, instead of being outrageously demanding, they were down to earth and reasonable in their requests. I liked that about them. They were huge stars at the time, but didn’t act like it, at least in that respect.

Over the years, I fed Sting and his entourage in many different cities. As you might expect, he is a very nice man and an English gentleman. A few years ago when he was on tour, I brought my granddaughter, who was then 5 years old, backstage with me and while I was taking her picture sitting on a road case, he slipped next to her and allowed me to take their picture together. He spoke to her in the sweetest way, asking her name and how old she was. She didn’t understand who he was, but he made a lasting impression on her.

As you may have heard last year, the Police have reunited after being apart for 25 years and gone back out on the road. Their tour was the largest grossing tour in 2007, taking in an estimated $2 million per show, sweeping through the US, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, and Europe and they are still going strong. In the last two weeks they have announced they will end their tour in August of this year, but not before taking another sweep through many cites in the US they didn’t hit the first time.

Last summer I saw their show in St. Louis. I didn’t really want to spoil my memories of their shows of the 80’s, since they were so spectacular and life altering for me and many others. I just didn’t see how they could duplicate that excitement. But my husband insisted, since he had never seen them (he’s quite a bit younger than me) and wanted to see for himself what he’d been hearing about from me for 20 years. So we went.

The show was exciting, colorful, and polished. Seeing Sting, Stewart Copeland, and Andy Summers playing together again was a thrill, they are all such accomplished musicians. But for me, it was as I suspected, they are just not the hungry, edgy, rebellious rockers they were all those years ago. The politically charged intensity is gone; the lyrics full of protest and urgency have morphed into comfortable familiarity. They have lived lives of privilege and it shows. But for thousands of others it was a fantastic experience.

The highlight for me was seeing Sting’s oldest son, Joe, and his band ‘Fiction Plane’ as the opening act. Joe is quite the image of a young Sting and also plays the bass like his dad. I took his picture in between shows at an autograph table in the arena concourse.

It was a fun experience for me to see my husband enjoy it. It is definitely a show for those from a younger generation who have no past memories to compare it to. So for those of you out there who didn’t think you were going to get to see them this time around, you’re in luck. If you’re willing to pay the high prices for tickets, they range from $50 to $225; they will be coming to a city near you beginning in May. A bonus is that Elvis Costello and the Imposters will be opening the show. Below is an itinerary of the tour.

May 1 - Ottawa, Canada (Scotiabank Place)

May 3- Buffalo, NY (HSBC Arena)

May 4 - Columbus, OH (Nationwide Arena)

May 10 - Chicago, IL (Allstate Arena)

May 11 - Grand Rapids, MI (Van Andel Arena)

May 13 - Kansas City, MO (Sprint Center)

May 14 - Omaha, NE (Qwest Center)

May 16 - Orlando, FL (Amway Center)

May 17 - West Palm Beach, FL (Cruzan Amphitheatre)

May 20 - Houston, TX (Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion)

May 21 - Dallas, TX (Superpages.com Center)

May 23 - Las Vegas, NV (MGM Grand Hotel & Arena)

May 24 - Phoenix, AZ (Cricket Wireless Pavilion)

May 26 - San Diego, CA (Coors Amphitheatre)

May 27 - Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Bowl)

May 28 - Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Bowl)

July 11 - Portland, OR (Clark County Amphitheatre)

July 12 - Seattle, WA (The Gorge)

July 14 - San Francisco, CA (Shoreline Amphitheatre)

July 16 - Concord, CA (Sleep Train Pavilion)

July 17 - Sacramento, CA (Sleep Train Amphitheatre)

July 19 - Salt Lake City, UT (USANA Amphitheatre)

July 21 - Denver, CO (Red Rocks Amphitheatre)

July 22 – Denver, CO (Red Rocks Amphitheatre)

July 25 - Milwaukee, WI (Marcus Amphitheater)

July 26 - Detroit, MI (DTE Energy Music Theater)

July 28 - Pittsburgh, PA (Post Gazette Pavilion)

July 31 - Boston, MA (Tweeter Center)

August 1 - Saratoga, NY (Saratoga Performing Arts Center)

August 3 - Holmdel, NJ (PNC Bank Arts Center)

August 4 - Wantagh, NY (Nikon at Jones Beach Theater)

August 5 - Wantagh, NY (Nikon at Jones Beach)

Until next time, rock on and be excellent to each other… Penny