That set of factors bring a pretty high level of expectations, and the band didn’t quite deliver superstar pacing, performance or production at the Staples Center.
The nearly two-hour set was plagued early on by sound problems that gave Sting’s bass a quacky tone and buried guitarist Andy Summers’ intricate chord work too deep in the mix. The sound sorted itself out a few songs in, and drummer Stewart Copeland in particular shone, nailing many of the crisp fills and syncopated rhythms that formed much of the Police’s trademark sound.
Sting at 55 is a wonder to behold, with a chiseled physique and in fine voice, though like many of his contemporaries (Bono and Bruce Springsteen come to mind), he’s taken to artistically stepping away from some of the high notes of the early catalogue.
As a group, the band’s biggest problem proved less to be the mechanics of their performance than their projection of it. During several of the too-long-and-interchangeable ska jams that punctuated the night and at some critical points in their bigger songs, the band felt less like they owned the material and more like a talented cover band that hadn’t quite nailed some of the nuances.
The fact that the setlist has changed since the beginning of the tour indicates the show may still be finding its rhythm. There was a palpable sag about mid-set during “Invisible Sun” and “Walking In Your Footsteps” that may find its footing later in the tour.
Highlights included terrific takes on “Driven To Tears,” “Can’t Stand Losing You” and “So Lonely.” Sting’s voice lit up compelling performances of “Wrapped Around Your Finger” and “Every Breath You Take.”
In all, the show was a fun--if uneven--journey through one of the premiere staples of the early music video generation.
Setlist:
Start - 8:50
“Message In A Bottle”
“Synchronicity II”
“Walking on the Moon”
“Voices Inside My Head / When The World Is Running Down”
“Don’t Stand So Close”
“Driven to Tears”
“The Bed’s Too Big”
“Truth Hits Everybody”
“Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”
“Wrapped Around Your Finger”
“De Do Do Do De Da Da Da”
“Invisible Sun”
“Walking In Your Footsteps”
“Can’t Stand Losing You”
“Roxanne”
“King of Pain”
“So Lonely”
“Every Breath You Take”
“Next To You”
End - 10:40
The traffic surge fit well into the capabilities of many established media outfits, like Los Angeles-area NPR station KCRW, which had to ramp up server capacity in the days following the iTunes release, but managed the upgrade smoothly, offset by a well-timed podcast sponsorship deal with Lexus dealers in the station’s broadcast area. The deal, reportedly in the six-figure range, is something of a holy grail scenario for most podcasters, particularly those in iTunes’ directory who are on bargain shared-hosting plans.
]]>Up to now, podcast listeners had to either manually download MP3 links of their chosen programs and manually add them to their iTunes playlists or use third-party software, such as iPodder, to grab the files from RSS feeds and import them into their iTunes or Windows Media playlists.
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On the party side, “Cab of My Truck” gallops out of the gate like a sequel to Bentley’s big-splash debut, “What Was I Thinkin’.” “Truck” and “Lot of Leaving” bring a Garth-like kinetic energy to the proceedings.
The service will launch with prices of $6.99 monthly and $4.99 a month if purchased as a year-long contract. Both of the service’s primary competitors, Napster and Real Networks’ Rhapsody, charge $14.95 a month for a similar product offering.
Today, Universal’s grand plan has been quieted by a combination of resistance from the very retailers the price cuts were expected to help and internal reconsideration of the program’s details.
The Echo project was founded to take advantage of economies of scale in developing consumer music shopping and delivery tools.
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With the addition of guitarist James Valentine, the group opted for a funkier sound and renamed itself Maroon 5. Its first album, 2002’s “Songs About Jane,” immediately spawned the hit “Harder to Breathe,” which became a VH1 staple.