The Police's Buenos Aires, Argentina concert

December 1, 2007

Review by Carmen Silvana Di Prinzio.

Almost four months had passed since the day I bought my The Police ticket and now it was the day: December 1st!!! And I was going to be there!! I was so anxious and happy at the same time that I can not exactly describe how I felt that day. It was a mixture of emotions.

I have to tell you that I spent Friday afternoon and part of Saturday, day of the concert, rehearsing The Police’s songs! And I also have to thank my dear family, my friends and even my pupils at school who put up with me the previous weeks with my comments about Sting and his band and their music, etc, etc….

Well, coming back to December 1st ,carrying The Police’s lyrics with me , I left home at 6:15 p.m. and I took the two buses that will lead me to the so famous and big River Plate Stadium. I arrived at 7:30 p.m. but I still had to walk several blocks but you could already smell The Police in the air: people wearing The Police’s t-shirts and people selling not only t-shirts but also posters, key-rings and pins.

As I reached the stadium, this atmosphere grew as well as my mixture of emotions. The sight of the River Plate Stadium is impressive really. It’s a giant!! I was checked and allowed to enter. You can not imagine how I felt!! I was already there!! And every step I took as I climbed the stairs was lived as a step nearer my favourite band!

A young man helped me to find my place. I had a numbered seat in preferential low stalls ( platea baja preferencial) , which was quite expensive, really! But, anyway, it did not matter now. I talked a bit with the person next to me who was a woman who had come from a faraway province to see The Police! Then, while Beck’s show was finishing( here I have to tell that I could appreciate Beck’s show better on December 2nd as I arrived early and I have to admit that I liked it) , I decided to walk for a while and have a look at the merchandising stand and go to the toilet. With my binoculars, I could appreciate this big stadium! It was amazing to see 60,000 people gathered together in this kind of Coliseum that is River Plate.

I was just going back to my seat when suddenly the lights went out. Many people as me hurried to seat down. The show was about to start! It was 9:30 p.m. . They were very punctual. There was a burst of music, the lights turned on and Sting, Stewart and Andy appeared on stage!!. The audience stood up and under a soft rain The Police began with their fantastic show. A show that will last 2 hours. And to me , it was still something unbelievable to be there , watching and hearing them!!

“Message in a Bottle” was the first song they played. They sang this song under the soft rain I told you which lasted only five minutes. It was nice because this rain gave the song a different touch. I could not see them in detail but with the help of my binoculars and the big and good screens , I could see better ! The version of this song was great! Similar to the original , really. The Sting asked smiling: “¿Qué tal Buenos Aires? ¿Quieren cantar? And after he pronounced these words he began singing Synchronicity 2 . People were amazed at the lights on the stage. The energy that comes from this song is fantastic as well as the lyrics in themselves. People clapped and sang frenetically. The came “Walking on the moon” , one of my favourites. Here I have to say that Sting made a mistake while singing it. Instead of singing: “Feet they hardly touch the ground” he said:”My feet don’t hardly touch the ground” . Not an important mistake, of course but I think Sting noticed it because of a gesture he made with his face. Sting ended this song with his classic : “io, io, io,”

The songs that followed were “De do do doo de da da da” in which I have to agree with Marisa. It really made me laugh the part when Sting said: “De do do doo” and we had to answer “De da da da”. It was very comic because it seemed as we were learning to talk but at the same time it was sweet !!

Later it came “Every little thing she does is magic” which was celebrated by all of us. Sting sang some parts and we completed the rest. It was really nice. Then “Voices inside my head” followed . Here Sting said: “Hay 60.000 personas aquí hoy. Entonces hay 120.00 manos”. And he invited us to raise both our two hands and clap together while he started: “Voices inside my head”. It was moving to see all the crowd clapping their hands following the rhythm of this great song.

The we heard “When the world is running down” in a shorter version than the original and “Don’t stand so close to me” other song that was celebrated by the big audience. Then we heard “Driven to tears”, “Hole in my life” , and “Truth hits everybody”. Here I have highlight Andy’s work his his guitar. He is a genious with the cords. He seems such a calm and sweet man but when he plays the cords of his guitar he amazes everybody!!! I have to study the last three songs because I didn’t know them well.

It was then the beginning of “Wrapped around your finger” in which Stewart could excel himself !! First with the gong ( an instrument that my friend Mariana who attended the second concert with me ,really liked as me) and then with the other instruments and his drums, of course!. People really liked this version with this calm and melancholic beginning and the rest of the song sang by Sting with a lot of energy. Stewart received a big applause and he deserved it !!

“Invisible Sun” initiated a moment of reflection in the show. We were all looking at the pictures of children on the screens. It was moving really and we all were silent. We only could hear Sting singing, and Andy and Stewart playing their instruments. I hope that something can be done for all the people who suffer in this world!

“Walking in your footsteps” was one of my favourites and here I have to admit that this was another song that I did not know( because, you know, I know more about Sting who is my favourite singer). This song is and was fantastic!! The lyrics are great and the sound of the pan flute that Sting plays at the beginning makes tremble everybody. The effect caused by the digitised dinosaur walking on The Police’s members was great. And the strong sounds of the dinosaur’s steps were believable too!!! The dinosaur seemed to be there , among us !! :=)

“Reggatta de Blanc” changed the atmosphere. Sting invited us to sing and clap along . You can not imagine what magic effects these short lines had on the Argentine audience. We were all crazy of happiness, joy, and jumping and moving our arms and hands, especially in the part that says: “Riayo, riayo, riay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, …” Sting was glad with our reaction and he said: “Once more!” And there we went again. Argentine people like this kind of manifestation. We like that the singers make us participate and sing along with them. The effect of the white lights was also nice. You could see them when you looked up in the sky above the open stadium. I can not imagine how it could be seen from a plane or helicopter in the sky , there , just above the stadium. It was magic. It was like feeling in a special closed place where we, the fans were closed with The Police , enjoying a unique moment captured in the time.

“Can’t stand losing you” followed. Sting sang some some lines of the song and we sang the rest. The we heard “Roxanne” , here the whole audience stood up and echoed the classic “Roxanno, o,o,o,o ”. It was great to hear these echoes in the whole stadium. The atmosphere created with the red light was great and at the end of the song the stage and the stadium was illuminated with a strong white light.

It was the turn of “King of Pain” , one of my favourites too but a bit difficult one for me to remember at times, because of the many things that are mentioned with “There is…” . This song was much celebrated!!! Then “So lonely” followed and here I have to highlight the work of the three of them, with the energy they gave to this song with their instruments and Sting with his voice.Sting also made us participate by completing some parts of the song.

They continued with “Every breath you take” .It was the most waited song. The whole stadium stood up and sang the complete song from A to Z. The stadium was illuminated with the white lights of the mobile phones. It was a nostalgic moment , I think people feel moved with this song because it marked a moment in their lives and it is part of many people’s adolescence, besides of being a very nice and very well-known song. I was then a bit sad because the end was near :=(

And finally the end came with “Next to you”, another song that I had to learn . It is not one of my favourites but it did not matter at that time. They put a a lot of energy in this song, really! If I were The Police, I would have chosen another song to finish the concert, a classic I mean. But they may have their reasons, may not they?

At the end of the show, the three of them: Sting , Andy and Stewart came to the front of the stage and together they bowed several times with their hands together, and then greeted the audience moving their hands and smiling a bit.-They did not stay long on the stage, just a few minutes. And then they left the stage :=( Some people kept waiting because they thought they will return again. But they did not. Then , the lights of the stage and of the stadium turned off, indicating us that the show had ended. I have to admit that I felt a bit sad at that moment because everything had concluded. There were not problems at the exit when leaving the place. Everything was done in a calm way.

As a conclusion to this long review , that I hope you did not got bored at reading it,I have to say that it was a unique moment in my life and I will never forget it, from the day I got up until the whole concert finished. Sting, Andy and Stewart are in excellent conditions and they sang and played their instruments excellently. Sting has not changed practically his voice and he is in excellent shape!I really admire him.He is my favourite singer. Andy keeps being a genius with the cords of his guitar and Stewart is a nice and crazy man, so possessed when playing the drums and his musical instruments, with his eyes popping out !! I had not seen him before and now I really admire him and now I can understand when some people say that he is the best drummer on the world.

I can highly really recommend this show not only for fans but for people who want to hear good music, and music and songs created by great people, a great band that will always remain in history and one of the best bands or the best band for me!! So don’t doubt in attending the show. The tickets are expensive I know but you can take the cheapest as I did for the second concert on December 2nd. And I could enjoy the concert and see well with the help of my binoculars and the good screens of the stadium. So make up you mind and attend this superb concert!! You will not regret!!!

Finally, I would like to thank all the people who supported me in attending The Police’s concerts and also I want to thank you Marisa Meisters for her passionate review, and the people’s reviews in her site, who provided the set of songs in The Police concerts, so I could know and learn the songs the The Police were going to perform in their shows.

Thanks everybody and my best wishes to all of you!! It was nice to share this fantastic experience with you all!! :=)

CARMEN ( or Carmensting as you wish) from Caseros, Buenos Aires, Argentina