So, tonight, I get the chance to tackle two musical firsts: Seeing Elvis Costello for the first time, and seeing The Police for the first time. I've never seen Sting, either, but this is a Police show, dammit. :)

Links ahoy, so bear with me.

I remember hearing "Roxanne" as far back as when I first lived in California, which was probably 1979.

I'm sure I heard their music again in the intervening years, as "Walking on the Moon" and "Message in a Bottle" were familiar when I started getting into music with a passion.

I got my first walkman in, oh, 7th or 8th grade, which would have been 1983. I had the little Sony red version and bought Ghost In The Machine. ("Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" will forever remind me of Julie McCasland :) I loved that album and when the time came for me to go on spring break the next year, I bought Outlandos d'Amour. Full review here:

http://samthebutcher.com/stb/topten.html

Album #5.

Then, my Police worship continued apace. I purchased Zenyatta Mondatta after that and just immersed myself in their music. (Yes, these were purchased all out of order, but it's how it happened) And no sooner had I become submerged in Police worship than it was all over. I remember watching the Synchronicity concert at the OMNI in Atlanta on Showtime (I believe I still have a videotape around somewhere...) I saw them in the URGH! A Music War movie, watched the "Police Around The World" video (still one of my favorite video chronicles of any band) and saw Sting perform on the Secret Policeman's Other Ball. Aquired a live performance from Hatfield Polytechnic from the brother of my 9th-grade girlfriend (she hated the Police, so I knew it would never last). But I never saw them live in their prime.

I liked Sting's work (it took me a while to warm to it) and enjoyed what I had access to of Stewart's. Andy...well, he's Andy. Pretty avant garde, and while I don't hate it, it's not everyday listening for me.

Flash forward to 2003, when the Police were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. They played together and I was *stunned*. I thought they'd never, ever reunite, for anything. I mean, I know they had played at Sting's wedding and such, but this was like a dream come true for me. I ate up the performances. Videos from the show can be seen here: http://www.vh1.com/shows/events/hall_of_fame/2003/videos/ but here's Roxanne:

So...then I hear they're going to be opening the Grammy's in 2007. Woah. Wait a minute. Then the reunion rumours start flying. I was pretty excited:

http://slashdot.org/~SamTheButcher/journal/158258

They regrouped, announced the tour, I was all set to join the fan club to secure good seats to the show and then...I...didn't. I did, however, say this: "OMG...the Police? At Red Rocks? Danger...Danger... LARGE dollar output ahead if that happens..." They came through Denver at the Pepsi center and...eh. I didn't have the cash at the time to outlay (what would have been probably close to $500 for the fan club and tix), so I reluctantly just let it go. I explained it at the time thusly:

My thinking went along these lines: If I wanted good tickets, I'd want to join the fan club for early seats. That's $100. Then I'd have to buy the tickets, I'd want the $90 seats, and I'd want to buy all 4 that I could, to take either my kids or friends. That's ~400, probably more after the TicketMiser charge. So I'd be staring $500 in the face, for a concert.

Say I didn't do all that and just bought two tix for the wife and me, online (assuming I could get any), the $90 seats? That's still ~$200. I could easily get Lyle Lovett tickets at Red Rocks for about the same. Better setting, good artist, good show....

All that said, there's even other artists that I could see that are coming through town for less than $100. Hell, seeing Steve Burns was, what, $30 for my wife and I? Jets to Brazil a few years ago was $10, IIRC, and was a rockin' show.

I love the Police. Double-heart love. I also believe there'll be a concert video. They're re-releasing "Police Around The World" on DVD this year - one of my favorite band videos of all time. As much as I want to go and buy the shirt and get the lithograph and say I went...I find myself thinking back to the Who farewell tours of the 80s and remembering that I didn't much care at that time. Granted, the Police are a different animal for me. Probably the first band I really got into by myself, just off hearing their music and exploring on my own. I've always loved their music. I remember listening to "Ghost in the Machine" and "Outlandos d'Amour" all the way through, just listening to the bass...then to only the drums...then to only the guitar.... I was so into it. I still am.

I'd like some new material, please. I'd like to buy the concert DVD. But I don't need to chuck half a G out the window to enjoy one of my favorite bands.

There, I said it.

*exhale*

Makes sense, right? :)

A friend came into town to see them play the Pepsi Center show, however, and it was in talking to him that I realised what it was I wanted to see so badly about the Police live: "So Lonely." My favorite song by them, and I've always loved seeing it live. My reaction to this deduction went thusly:

I remembered why I wanted to see the Police live.

"So Lonely".

Had I remembered a few hours ago, I could've still gone.

I came home and started up iTunes and the first song it played was "Can't Stand Losing You". How a propos, I thought, and took shuffle play off. So it played side two and then I wanted to hear side 1. Started with "Next to You" and then into "So Lonely". One of my favorite songs of all time.

And then I remembered why I wanted to see the Police. Not for "Roxanne" or "Every Breath You Take" or any of those. It was for that one song, this one song.

"So Lonely".

Damn.

Will there be a next time?

"So Lonely".

Next time one of my favorite bands gets back together (who's left?), I'll remember this.

Damn.

"So Lonely".

So...even more expository...I hear earlier this year that they're coming back around and this was my reaction:

"The Police.

Are coming to Red Rocks.

In July.

It seems that it's put up or shut up time for me, after saying last year I didn't care to see them at the Pepsi Center, and would've gone had they come to Red Rocks.

To sweeten the pot: Opening band is Elvis Costello & the Impostors. I've never seen Elvis live, either.

O. M. G."

So, long story even longer, I bought tickets, just like I said I would. Not because I said I would, but because this is going to be freaking awesome. My wife and I went to check out the seats when we saw the Cure back in May, and they're *fing* incredible. High enough that you can see Denver over the top of the stage, close enough that, well, there's not really any bad seats in the place. Row 43. And as I wrote when I bought the tickets, "I can just see myself with my eyes closed going "Eeeeee-yoooooooooooo-oooh!!!" along with Stingy. :)"

I. Cannot. Wait.

:)