Many Miles Away
Photo courtesy of www.smh.com.au
Seeing The Police live at Fenway Park was, in all seriousness, one of the highlights of my life so far.
Unlike my sister, brother, fiance, and a slew of friends, I did not get to see the famous 1983 Synchronicity tour, even though The Police are my favorite band of all time. I have every album, their Message in a Box discography on both cassette and CD, and I've seen Sting twice already, on both his Brand New Day and Sacred Love tours. I honestly thought, being born a bit too late, that I would never see The Police perform live - a reunion never seemed likely.
So when the 2007 tour was announced, I would have been overjoyed with the worst, nosebleed seats in the smallest, crappiest venue the band played on the entire tour -- not that Sting would ever play anything less than a stellar venue. But imagine my glee when two tickets to the historic Fenway performance landed in my hot little hands.
The concert was, hands down, the best show I've ever seen. As a fan, I knew every song they played by heart, including some of the late seventies releases (they played two, Fallout and Next to You) but anyone at the show had plenty to enjoy on the set list and in the fresh interpretations of each hit, adding a new twist to classics like Message in a Bottle, King of Pain, and Wrapped Around Your Finger without sacrificing those well-known hooks.
The lighting was not overdone, but spectacular nonetheless - the blue, red, and yellow Synchronicity colors made an appearance as did a particularly cool video component during Walking in Your Footsteps, featuring skeletal dinosaurs floating across the stage.
For the most part, the three big screens on the Fenway stage featured close-ups of Andy Summers, Stewart Copeland, and Sting, and this was probably the best part of the visual effects. All three looked in the moment, pumped, and happy, doing scissor kicks and Summers launching off the drum stage in a windmill more than a few times.
Copeland is absolutely amazing. He doesn't miss a trick, even when running back and forth from his drum kit to an ornate percussion section behind him, which included a gong.
There was unbelievable energy, all three legendary performers (could I gush any more?) were spot on, at one point bringing Driven to Tears back to the chorus for a second time seamlessly, even though they'd just slowed it down enough to have the entire park believing the song was rumbling to a definite end.
(All Plaza photos by ArcherVision)
To make the event a little more special, I booked a last minute deal at the Park Plaza, scoring an inexpensive room for the evening.
The trick was to indeed book last minute (I used Priceline, but I also often use Expedia and my Traveler's Advantage account, which can reserve rooms for up to half-off) and to not expect too much - for just an overnight, this was not a big deal.
I had a small but cute corner room at the end of the hall on the ninth floor, with a Queen-sized bed and little more than a television and a great view, but it was just enough to afford the right amount of comfort without too much excess or expense.
Nestled in Copley Square, the Plaza is adjacent to literally hundreds of shops and restaurants, and easily accessible via the Mass Pike. The T's Green Line is also just one block away, and parking was not nearly as bad a Boston can sometimes seem - a parking garage across from the hotel was brightly lit and housed the car overnight for $24. Swan's, the hotel restaurant, was a nice late night spot for a nightcap after the concert and a hearty- though, as hotels are wont to do, overpriced - Caesar Salad.
The entire trip was great - and it's always nice to go the extra mile in the middle of a perfect moment.
Photos from the Beat
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