Rock and Roll

I used to love going to hear live music. Still do, but whenever I see a show, it takes me back to college.

In Columbia, Missouri, there is a club called the Blue Note. When I was there, in the mid-80s, it was located in an old warehouse on the business loop (it has moved now, and the new place does not have the same ... ambience, if you will). It was dark and depressing inside; half of the chairs didn't have seats, the stage was a mess of old shag carpet and leftover duct tape from various bands.

But none of that mattered - it wasn't about aesthetics, but about the music. (And besides, the aesthetics were dark and edgy - they were alternative and cool.) We saw great regional bands - Steve, Bob, & Rich from Kansas City, the Elvis Brothers from Champaign, Illinois. We saw names that were big (Replacements) names that had been big (Marshall Crenshaw, Nick Lowe, Alex Chilton) and names that would be big (They Might Be Giants). We saw Aztec Camera, Beat Farmers, and Game Theory. Wynton Marsalis played the Blue Note. I paid top dollar of $7.50 to see Nick Lowe - with Paul Carrack - and these people played for two to three hours. I never left disappointed.

I saw my share of big shows, too. I didn't do a lot of the big stadium shows, though; they weren't really what I was into at the time. When I went to orientation at Mizzou, a friend from Springfield was in my group. She went on and on about having seen Michael Jackson at Arrowhead Stadium ... and there was no envy on my part. Just wasn't my thing. But I did make it to St. Louis to see REM, Squeeze, Tears for Fears, and the Violent Femmes in smaller venues.

(Later, I saw Squeeze in San Francisco at the Fillmore, which counts as one of my all-time favorites - the Fillmore is a historic location and was THE place to see The Grateful Dead, The Who, Cream, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd, The Doors, and Big Brother and the Holding Company.)

Post-college shows include Bob Dylan, Paul Simon on his Rhythm of the Saints tour (now that was amazing) and Elvis Costello whenever I can fit him in. Just this year we saw John Fogerty at the Houston rodeo, which was also good.

Which brings me to last night. We paid big bucks for tickets to see Elvis Costello and the Police. I would not have shelled out the cash for just the Police, but with EC opening, we figured, why not?

This was definitely a concert for old people. Let's face it - most of the fans are over 40. The tickets said 7.30. We took our seats at about 7.25 ... and by golly, at 7.31, out walked Elvis. But if the fans are old, you gotta figure the performers are older still. And they've lived hard lives - they're likely not up for the 11 p.m. start time of yesteryear.

It was fun, but not amazing. Elvis was great (of course), but he only got about 50 minutes. He did some of his new stuff, but he threw in some classics - Pump It Up, Watching the Detectives, a cool reggae version of Everyday I Write the Book, Alison (a duet with Sting), (I Don't Want to) Go to Chelsea, and a very cool version of Peace, Love & Understanding. He looked as if he must be dying in his black shirt and jacket - it was about 90 degrees out there - but he was great. Loved him. Always love him.

But now, a word for Sting and the Boys:

• I did not come to see "Sting ...... and, by the way, the Police." Save the solo stuff, Sting - don't care. Never did.
• When you have to throw in your "Oh way oh" gimmick on, oh, every other song, it's a bit over-used. Stop.
• It's fun to have the audience sing back to you once, or twice, in one song. But again, over-used.
• In a live show, people like to see you mix it up, do things a little differently. But you need to be careful which songs you do that to. Take a clue from High Fidelity - when it comes to a song like Roxanne, the crowd wants to hear you do a very tight version. We don't like the long, meandering parts that mean nothing.
• If your band doesn't sing back up, then get some back-up singers. Some songs (Don't Stand So Close to Me) really don't work well without them.
• Why am I just now noticing the misogynistic lyrics to your songs from Synchronicity. "I will turn your face to alabaster/Then you'll find your servant is your master/And you'll be wrapped around my finger." And the stalker-ish "Every Breath You Take" - "Every breath you take/Every move you make/Every bond you break/Every step you take/I'll be watching you."

Ewww.

But these are just suggestions.

On the bright side, they did some cool stuff - they did a bunch of stuff from Outlandos d'Amour (my fave of their albums) - Next to You, Hole in My Life, Roxanne, So Lonely, and Can't Stand Losing You. They did Walking on the Moon (from Regatta de Blanc) and Driven to Tears from Zenyatta Mondatta; they even did Demolition Man from Ghost in the Machine.

And with these song choices - my favorites - it was clear that the crowd was really only into the Top 40 stuff; they barely reacted and did not know anything but the big hits. Which is OK - but they must have been disappointed by the absence of some stuff. We, on the other hand, give them props for not having to hear too much from Synchroncity (though I do kinda like "Synchronicity I" and "Murder by Numbers").

It was good, but not great. Mostly it was about 25 years too late. We were surrounded by people in their 40s - and 50s - people who, like us, liked the band in its heyday. The kind of people who can shell out those ticket prices (don't ask). I passed on the Synchronicity concert shirt - no need to advertise myself as a desperado. (Plus, Gary pointed out that he had one the first time.)

All in all, it was OK - Elvis is always great, and the Police were fun enough. But this reaffirms my decision not to seek out other bands from the past. Sometimes, the memories are enough.