Arriving to the stadium was a bit surreal. The crowd at the back of the show – (the cheap seats) were penned out of the seating area and looking incredibly stoic (save the drunk middle-aged women whipping themselves into a frenzy with their tornado-like dancing). Having already forgone watching ‘Fiction Plane’ , I worry to think about the crowd reception to their set. Still, being on the a world tour must be fun – even when you are playing in a sparsely filled stadium.
Fergie seemed like a funny opening act for The Police, but dropping references like “Welcome to the Jungle baby…” in her rendition of ‘Barracuda’ was not lost on most of the crowd. Appreciative fans could be heard clear as day at the highlights of her set, which gives me the inkling that most of the crowd (at least in the standing area), weren’t really there for the warm-up acts.
By the close her set – which seemed incredibly loud – it was obvious the sound in the stadium was at it’s notorious worst, leaving the outlook for the main event was looking bleak.
But while the sound was average at best for them, the crowd was happy reliving some of The Police’s tunes.
It’s interesting watching these guys, now of the other side of their 50′s playing all this stuff that, for me, always sounded so energetic and punchy. The sound was still there, and the enthusiasm didn’t seem to wain, but I kept thinking…”How mean they must have been in their prime”. Still, this opportunity was not a waste.
Crowd pleasers like ‘Roxanne’, ‘Message in A Bottle’, ‘Walking on the Moon’ were great even though the sound was bad, and Copeland showed his skills on my highlight ‘Wrapped Around Your Finger’.
I’m sure none of the 35,000 came away overly disappointed, but for me the sound was a huge disappointment. I hope that the stadium bosses look at this, because for the people in the cheap seats (and at $99, that could be argued), the sound was really ordinary. I suppose I could be value conscious and be happy I got to hear every snare hit twice…but it’s not really the point is it?