The Police brought one of the most successful reunions of rock n roll to an end at Madison Square Garden, with a tribute for other famous trios as well as assistance from real cops and a shave that wasn’t particularly close.

The final show and 150th of their 14 month comeback tour was a benefit concert for two public television stations in New York. Sting, along with Andy Summers, guitarist, and Stewart Copeland, drummer, added in some silliness that comes from being on the end of a long road tour into their set list. They walked off to “that’s all, folks,” the signature line of Porky Pig.

Four songs into the concert, Sting thanked his fellow band mates for their musicianship, your friendship, your companionships and your understanding.

Sting added that the tour’s real triumph was that they hadn’t strangled each other. Not that it hasn’t cross my or Stewart’s or Andy’s mind.

Copeland and Sting both have volatile personalities. Before the band’s break up in 1984, at a time when the Police were on top of the world of rock n roll, the two almost drove each other insane. Time as well as the phenomenal business of the tour were the mellowing agents, and also saw the band continuing to add concert dates to the tour far beyond what they had originally intended.

Their comeback tour has the Police along with the Eagles standing as rock’s two most highly successful reformations. The Eagles are once again an active recording and touring unit. The Police have stated they are through.

The Police opened their concert with “Sunshine of Your Love,” from Cream. They later played “Purple Haze,” from the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Their covers gave a nod to two of the most famous trios of rock music.

Unlike other groups that use backing musicians to augment their sound, the Police returned as truly a trio. New York City’s Police band and a roadie taking a single swing on a gong were the only additional music makers that were allowed onstage. Their appearances were very brief.

Copeland sat atop his percussion mountain, with each of the band members seeming to be like separate countries of their own onstage. They used three different staircases for exiting twice during the concert. Their determined need for showing their skillfulness left some of the songs at times to meander well past their breaking point. It’s true that the Police is able to add jazz fusion with their well known reggae punky sound. However it did spoil the concert’s “Roxanne” version.

They are definitely not the party hearty group. One stretch of music included a consecutive group of songs concerning suicide, a hooker, the loneliness of “King of Pain,” and creepy obsessive relationship of “Every Breath You Take,” the band’s biggest hit.

However the Police were able to bring a drive to the songs of Sting that his mannered solo work is often missing. At almost 57 years of age, the man still rocks on his material like “Demolition Man,” an unexpectedly strong song. The years have not worn his voice down. Early material like “Next to You,” “So Lonely” and “Can’t Stand Losing You,” were pure distillation of the original sound of the Police, and the lesser known songs were able to stand their ground with the hits that came later.

Following the Cream cover, about two dozen police band members in full uniform were brought out for a very thunderous “Message in a Bottle” version that drew on of the loudest ovations of the night. As he sang Sting wore one of the caps of New York’s finest.

The tour finale in New York was intentional. Members of the band had wanted to end things in New York City, site of their first gig in the U.S. thirty years ago at the much smaller, but not just as famous CBGB nightclub, which is now closed.

The concert raised money for PBS stations Thirteen/WNET and WLIW-21 in New York. The gift was unexpected for the stations. According to a spokeswoman the offer was a complete surprise. It had been so successful that seats that were behind the stage were selling for $50 just a few days prior to the show.

While on break right before the encore, there was a camera that followed Sting while he was sitting shirtless backstage. Some very attractive female stylists shaved off his scraggly beard. And yes his yoga sessions are definitely doing him quite well. He never did put his shirt on again. The audience watched and laughed as the spectacle was shown on the video screens. Copeland went over and kissed the clean shaven singer.

There was still leftover shaving cream on the corner of Sting’s mouth when he came out singing “Roxanne.”

The show had some other lighthearted moments. During the song “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic,” three daughters of Sting crept up onstage and danced beside their father. At the end of the show a roadie dressed up as a fat, outrageous opera singer lip synched to an aria.

It was hard to miss the intentions behind the cliché. It really was over.

During the Police’s long reunion tour that will finish up on Thursday, they didn’t exactly resolve conflicts that almost 25 years ago blew up one of the most successful groups in rock music history.

The band members at least appear to understand the conflicts better.

Andy Summers, group guitarist said, people don’t ever really change. We are still those same three jerks that we always were. I am actually very proud of how long it has gone on.

Initially the Police had planned on ending the tour of their 30 year reunion a year ago at Giants Stadium, which would have brought their career full circle to where their first show in the U.S. was at the grungy CBGB night club in New York City. Everything was going so well, professionally as well as personally that they continued to add legs to the tour. The reunion tour once it ends will wind up being one of the all time five largest money making tours all time in rock music history.

However, the idea of a full circle stuck. The final tour show, the 96th, will be at Madison Square Garden in New York City to benefit two of the local PBS stations.

Summers said, at the most simplest of levels it has been very satisfying seeing the fans faces who grew up listening to the songs of the Police such as “Roxanne,” “Every Breath You Take,” and “Don’t Stand So Close To Me.”

I am right in front onstage and literally you see people breaking into sobs or kissing each other and jumping around to express joy, Summers said. In many ways this has been very emotional.

Copeland vs. Sting

There are some things that never change. Andy Summer got suck right in the middle of two kids who were scrapping on each side of him, the headstrong composer and singer Sting and the volatile Stewart Copeland, drummer and the band’s anchor of their mix of jazz, reggae and punk rock sound.

Copeland is an extremely visceral musician who see music being an exercise of spontaneous joy and also enjoys the creative process. Although Copeland sees Sting as very much the musical genius, he also sees hims as one who is very sure about his ideas and set in his ways and not too interested in collaborating. Copeland has spent the last several years composing music for film and hiring musicians to exactly play notes as he wrote them and can now understand why he has driven Sting nuts.

Copeland said, when he exercised the right of his to have things they way that he imagined them, there is a problem for him as well as me. I just can’t seem to do that. I can’t remember things that way. I have all of my own ideas. I am incorrigible.

When Copeland, who is now 56, was 25 years old he didn’t understand all of this.

After the band’s break up in 1984, Sting, Summers and Copeland would socialize occasionally, however not to an extent where they could clear up misconceptions they had about each other. Copeland said, for us it was really good figuring out what made our band work as well as what didn’t work. Then we were able to appreciate each other better and not confusing it with other issues.

Copeland said it was inspiring working with Sting, but that sometimes he needed to breathe.

He added that he didn’t want the conflicts to get overemphasized because they had been having a great time while out on the road.

Another hint of Copeland’s personality was given when he completely trashed their performance on his blog after their first few gigs. He wrote we’re the almighty Police now totally out to sea.

According to Copeland the best shows came on the tour’s last leg. As we get into it more and are less uptight about having to live the legend, it’s becoming more like the stuff that actually got us here.

When asked if was really the end, Copeland replied yes. That commitment from the very beginning was what made it possible. The commitment was finite. It’s actually made things lots of fun.

When Summers asked if it really was the end he replied yes, but…

It may be because he has seen bands such as the Eagles, who now are a fully functioning touring and recording unit once again after saying that hell would have to freeze over before reuniting.

Summers said, I am fully prepared for saying yes that was it. We are fine. We are done. Then again, I am also fully prepared that if someone were to come back in a few years and say we should give it one more go, that you’d have to consider that.

With bands such as the Eagles and many others everyone kind of matures and then realizes what a fantastic business this is, and all of the impetuosity from being very young when walking away from something very successful, well you kind of do get over that.

Summers said that he didn’t expect that to happen with the Police, but there was the model out there for him.