I have finally decided to add a new category to my blog: Live coverage of Rock concerts. My assumption is that most readers are not really interested in my music related posts (Album reviews and now – concert reviews), but that's what great about blogging – The perfect platform to fulfill childhood dreams – be a Rolling Stone reporter!
Talking about childhood dreams, my first move to the Bay Area was back 1982 when I was in 8th grade. I lived in Palo Alto (Very close to Fuki Sushi), and went to Wilbur Junior-High (Now JLS Middle School). Just when we moved to the US, I bought the latest Police album (Ghost in the Machine) and that album became the soundtrack of my Palo Alto year. I think I played "Darkness" and "Demolition Man" more than 1000 times during that year. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to see them live. I always thought that was will never be fixed. Lucky for me, Sting decided to do a reunion tour, so I finally saw the Police playing live in Oakland, only 50 miles and 25 years away from Palo Alto…
The concert itself was good, but not great. First of all, there is something too clean about the Police. Compare them to the Stones – no drugs… no smoking… it seems like the 3 band members got on stage after a Yoga session and a good meal at Whole Foods. In addition, many of the songs lacked the original rock 'n' roll energy and were too "Jazzy" for me. There were a few gems, mostly "Truth Hits Everybody", "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" and the unforgettable classic: "Every Breath you take". The lighting and background were great, especially during "Invisible Sun". I did expect them to show some old video footage from the past, but I guess that was too obvious (Saw that in a few other bands, including the Stones).
As an Israeli living in the US, the ability to see these concerts is a great treat. Based on that, I will continue writing about them. My next one is Crowded House in August. Looking forward…
Hey, while searching for widgets for my blog, I stumbled upon www.widgetmate.com and wow! I found what I wanted. A cool news widget. My blog is now showing latest news with title, description and images. Took just few minutes to add. Awesome!
Posted by: Mark Vane | June 25, 2007 at 01:34 AM
Ah, the memories... The Police was actually the first rock act I saw live. It was January 1981, I was 12 going on 13, and went to Madison Square Garden to see them with some friends. Funny that you mention how "clean" they are, because this was also the first time I got acquainted with the distinct smell of weed. No, I wasn't smoking any and nor were my friends (we were good kids!) but around us a lot of people were, and being on the upper rows of the Garden we were getting a lot of second-hand smoke...
Posted by: Rani | June 25, 2007 at 02:15 AM