After only two songs into the Police’s debut Vancouver B.C. concert of their reunion tour, Sting was feeling comfortable enough around his old fellow band members to joke around. He laughed that they hadn’t played together for twenty five years, and he wanted to introduce their band. Not that any introduction would be needed for the summer’s most highly anticipated rock tour, a tour that reunites Sting with Andy Summers, guitarist, and Stewart Copeland, drummer. Sting said, smiling, Andy meet Stewart, to the 64 year old Andy Summers. Unlike the last tour for the Police in 1983 rife with inter-band tensions, Sting’s quip brought smiles to everyone’s faces.

Except for the performance at their induction into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame, the band had not played an official, entire Police concert since their Synchroncity tour. However from their ramped-up opening of “Message in the Bottle,” it was easy to imagine that they had never broken up. Sting, perhaps befitting for the reunion, wore a holey ancient white t-shirt that looked like he had had it since the 1980s, showing off his well tone abs. Copeland sported a headband, and Summers looked the part of the professional jazz musician in his slacks and shirt.

The hallmark that always made the Police successful was their professional musicianship. It was evident once again as they were able to give new life to their well-known hits. They removed Roxanne’s reggae-lilt and replaced it with a jazzier, slower tempo. They were comfortable enough re-imagining their well-known catalog, which proved them to be confident, seasoned veterans. It wasn’t exactly like it was “the Police Unplugged,” however the frantic punky edge of some of their early hits such as “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” and “Can’t Stand Losing You” was swapped out to provide more room for the improvisations of Copeland and the guitar solos of Summers done in Wes Montgomery style. Extending the songs also provided Sting with the space for widening the choruses out. He turned the song “Roxanne” into a form of call-and-response with members of the audience, which was something reminiscent of Van Morrison’s repertoire. When Sting sang the song “The Bed’s Too Big Without You,” he sounded like he really meant it, even though his wife was sitting rather obvious in the eighth row’s center.

The most successful reinterpretation was the re-imagination of the hit “Wrapped Around Your Finger.” It was turned into a plaintive, haunted ballad that the solo catalog of Sting is best known for. Only hits from the Police repertoire were included and new and solo material was skipped, although the night had more of a celebratory feel than a nostalgic one.

The Police always were quite the populist band. That’s exactly why their fans, which included Penelope Cruz and Eddie Vedder, had coveted tickets so much for the tour’s debut concert. Some of the inter-band tension that had propelled some of the early tours of the Police, when the internal implosion of the band was happening and Copeland had swear words written on his drums, appeared to be absent during a set both predictable and generous. When the Police did their encores with “Every Breath You Take,” and “King of Pain,” along with “Next to You” as their finale , the familiar yet resurrected hit songs were delivered with the conviction that had made the Police originally such a sincere rock band we could all love without any guilt.

The Police, in what will undoubtedly be a run of historic proportions, is embarking on a worldwide tour. It is their first in 23 years. The tour starts in Vancouver at GM Arena on May 28 and will continue to the end of 2007 with the band playing in stadiums and arenas internationally. The Police will also be the headliners for the Bonnaroo festival on June 16 in Manchester, Tennessee.

The band recently finished a live rehearsal and press conference at West Hollywood’s Whisky a Go Go, rocking through old songs like “Message in a Bottle,” “Voices Inside My Head” medley, “When the World is Running Down,” and “Reggatta De Blanc/Can’t Stand Losing You,” which they fully admitted to barely remembering how to play. “Roxanne,” the band’s breakthrough hit, was performed as well.

As expected, RZO Entertainment in association with Next Adventure will produce the tour worldwide, under Arthur Fogel’s direction, TNA president and global music chairman for Live Nation, TNA’s parent company. During the press conference Fogel said, I’m thrilled being part of bringing back the Police to all their fans. It’s been a long time.

The announcement followed the outstanding “Roxanne” performance by the Police as the opener for the Grammy Awards. As the band kicked into their song, Sting shouted, we’re back. We’re the Police.

There had been rampant talk in prior weeks of a 30th anniversary tour of the Police. The plan is to have the Police touring North American into early August. They will then play Europe and the UK and return in late October to North America.

After that other parts of the world are on tap including Japan, South America, Mexico and maybe New Zealand and Australia to round out the year. Currently there are around 80 shows on the books, which include 24 North American cities. It’s also possible for the Police to end up playing in several U.S. Stadiums as well as abroad. Currently Boston’s Fenway Park is the only stadium date confirmed. The only festival planned so far is Bonnaroo which features heavyweight musical acts like the White Stripes, Tool and Wilco.

Best Buy is the tour’s North American sponsor. Some of the tour’s proceeds will benefit Water Aid. Ticket prices will be primarily scaled at $50, $90 and $225. Tickets go on sale for Vancouver, Toronto (for July 22) and Montreal (for July 25) on February 17th. Tickets for other markets, which include Boston (August 1) and New York (August 3), go on sale on February 20. A pre-sale will be orchestrated by Ticketmaster through a Police tour website that was created a few days before general public onsales. The Police will very likely be 2007’s top grossing tour.

Sting, Andy Summers, guitarist, and Stewart Copeland, drummer, split up in 1984 amidst internal tensions that followed the release of “Synchroncity,” the band’s most successful album. They did regroup in 1986 for a few concerts before they broke up for good.

Sting recalled, around three months ago I woke up one day and a light bulb just went off inside my head. I thought I will call Stewart and Andy and tell them about doing a tour. They will be surprised. The world will be surprised. I’m surprised too. It is very healing. I have been running away from that part of my past for 25 years. We are still fighting and arguing over the music. However now we have ways for navigating that before we didn’t have.

Before the Grammys, the only public performance of the Police was at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2003. An impromptu set was also played by the band at the 1992 wedding of Sting and Trudie Styler.

Our arguments were about music. Also about hairstyles, Sting said laughing. Copeland added, over the music we fought like tooth and nail, but we always did like each other as human beings.

The band was silent concerning details over a potential set list for the tour or any new studio recordings. However Sting did acknowledge that they wouldn’t be playing his solo material. Sting said, we will be playing songs we’ve never played before. In the next three months we have lots of work to do.

Opening the shows will be Fiction Plane, which is fronted by Joe, Sting’s son.

The day following their very spirited “Roxanne” performance that brought the audience at the Grammy Awards to their feet, tour date details have been announced by the Police regarding the band’s first tour in over two decades.

The tour schedule for the band was announced in Los Angeles which was preceded by an invitation only special set webcast live at the Whiskey. The details were announced by Arthur Fogel, the Live Nation Chairman for Global Music, after The Police had played a few songs. Ticket sales for three shows in Canada begin this weekend.

The Police, who recently reunited for their 30th anniversary tour, kick off the tour with a show on May 28 in Vancouver at GM Palace, according to Fogel. There are tour dates planned across the U.S. as well as Canada through early August.

After that the Police will be playing several European dates in September as well as October before resuming the North American part of their tour during late October. The Police will also be performing shows as part of the tour in South America, Mexico, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.

Tour details are located at the band’s website at thepolicetour.com, as well as Stingus.net and Sting.com.

Some of the tour dates for the Police include:

Bonnarro Festival in Tennessee (6/16)
Fenway Park in Boston (7/28-7/29)
Madison Square Garden in New York City (8/1, 8/3)
Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ (8/5)

The North American tour legs, in addition to those cities, will also include dates for Montreal, Toronto, St. Louis, New Orleans, Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Denver and Seattle.

Tickets for shows in New York City and Boston go on sale on Tuesday, February 20.

Fogel said that the average price of tickets for the shows on the Police tour will be a little less than $100. He added that a majority of the tickets would be price slightly over $200, with some at around $50.

More and more it’s looking like Sting is set to reunite with The Police, his original band.

Signs are so strong and there are enough available clues that even Colonel Mustard would be able to figure this one out. Here is a clue from yesterday: Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers, former Police band members, were guests along with their families at a birthday party in Malibu for Trudie Styler, Sting’s wife. Their appearance at the party caused a big stir.

Then on Thursday night in Los Angeles at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Sting dedicated the lute version of a Police song, “Message in a Bottle,” to his former comrades who were seated right inside the auditorium.

Although Sting along with his camp are remaining silent on the matter, sources are saying that this summer the Police will be reuniting for a 30th anniversary tour.

The idea of this type of tour does make sense to practically everybody A reunited Police band would undoubtedly lead to sold out arenas and stadiums all over the world. At any time an announcement could be made.

By now the Rolling Stones and U2 have exhausted their audiences, giving the Police a clear shot to break box office records this summer.

Before they broke up in 1982, the Police recorded just five albums. However the greatest of their hits are still staples of the radio twenty five years later. Since that time, Sting has moved on and had a solo career that is unparalleled, while Copeland and Summers have concentrated on soundtrack and jazz composing.

The band’s song are still widely known by even new generations. “Don’t Stand So Close To Me,” “Roxanne,” and “Every Breath You Take,” are all well known by many people from different age groups.

Should the Police really reunite, and there isn’t any reason to think that they won’t, the inspiration for it may have its roots in the documentary that Copeland showed at last year’s Sundance Film Festival titled “Everyone Stares. The icy relations of the trio started to thaw when Sting attended the film screening.

Since that time, Sting has released “Songs From The Labyrinth,” his classical albums that held Billboard’s top spot for 12 weeks on the classical chart.

Insiders say the the former reluctance of Sting for rejoining his former band mates has dissipated since he has accomplished just about everything in terms of his solo career that he can, for the moment at least.