Welcome To The Andy Summers Show

I saw the Police last week at Madison Square Garden.
There is so much to say about it that I don't know where to begin.
This review in The Times get's it mostly right.
Sting's voice was ragged out. He sprayed some prescription concoction in his mouth between every song. He seemed most comfortable when the audience was singing every word, er, vowel sound with him. Such as in this:
Reggatta De Blanc
On The Bed's Too Big Without You K-Rock and I walked behind the stage to get a closer look at Stewart.
To me, it was more obvious that Sting and Stewart just don't have the same sense of time. Sting's shoulder sullenly pounds out the beat while Stewart just plays what he feels.
By far the biggest surprise of the evening was 10 long guitar solos by Andy Summers. Who would have thunk it? In this old version of Driven To Tears (which $250 Police fans seem to love more than any Synchronicity track) you get a feel for Andy's solo style-- Long sustained notes with whammy bar, a little too reminiscent of Alex Lifeson, trippy Jazz licks that may or not be intentional, and a sense of architecture that builds and builds. This is what made the show so enjoyable. Sting's voice was hurting, ergo, Andy played long solos. LONGButmusicalandspontaneoussoundingones, unlikemostarenarock/popsolos!
And the crowd cheered.
And EEE-OOH-ed.

If you don't click on any of the links, click on this one and watch the brawling!
Vintage Police