Sadly, no pictures. I honored that provision of the venue’s policies. I also poured my red wine into a Nalgene container (#2 – HDPE) so as not to attempt bringing a wine bottle in. But onto the music:

One of the main reasons I went was to see Elvis. I’m a longtime Elvis fan, and, as much as I like The Police, Elvis was top draw for me. Unfortunately, Elvis didn’t get the respect he deserved.

I arrived about fifteen minutes late, at 7:45, and heard “Pump It Up” blasting through the speakers. I knew they wouldn’t play a song from a band that would be on later the same night, so I realized Elvis was already on. Just fifteen minutes after the appointed start time? Things have changed since I used to go to shows, I guess. Or the entertainers are just getting older. I wasn’t expecting anything until 8:30 at the earliest. I figured 7:45 would be all-clear of good music. Unfortunately, so did everyone else. Elvis don’t get no respect.

Since the Bowl is basically known for picnicking, among other recreational activities, people were milling around, eating, drinking, setting up, going off to the sides to smoke, cleaning up their meals, etc. All the while, Elvis belted it out.

He played with the Impostors, who include Steve Nieve. They did some old stuff (Peace, Love, and Understanding) and some songs off Momofuku. Then Sting came out and did “My Aim is True” with Elvis. 

The biggest problem with that part of the show was the sound. They must have optimized the acoustics for The Police, because Elvis basically sounded like shit out there. I could barely make out some of the music. I was praying that The Police’s sound quality would be better – and it was.

So then, while the sun was still up, Elvis ended his set.

A bit later, The Police came out. Nice, casual start (can’t remember the exact song). Lighting was great – lots of effects reminiscent of Ghost in the Machine art. The set was very well designed, and, as mentioned above, the sound quality was pretty excellent at this point.

They played tons of the good hits: Roxanne, Every Breath You Take, Don’t Stand So Close To Me, De Do Do Do De Da Da Da, Wrapped Around Your Finger, etc. I was a bit surprised that they played not a single song from Sting’s solo albums.

Sting looked pretty good. Not as full of energy as in the old days, but vibrant, engaged, and interested. Andy is really getting old. I guess he’s about ten years older than the other two guys, and it shows. He still has his skill as a guitar player, but his face is pretty much frozen in place, and he looks like he has to concentrate pretty hard to make it happen. Still – the talent is there.

But Stewart killed me. I can’t imagine that the guy hasn’t seem some footage of himself and worked on his look a little bit. But I guess our dear president still says ‘nucular’ and he’s got an army of attendants. Stewart looks like some kid who grew up too fast and ended up as a real estate agent, but always wanted to jam on the drums. Again, the guy is very talented – without question. But the super-tight black jeans, the sweatband (probably needed), the hair, the printed t-shirt, and, most of all, the facial expressions practically killed me with laughter.

The showed ended with a few encores. Right out of some live album that I’ve heard a million times, Sting started introducing the band in the end of Every Breath You Take, “And on guitar, Mr. Andy Summers . . .”