The Police - Certifiable Concert

[daddyo]

I watched The Police's concert, Certifiable. Very good. The lads were tight and the sound was excellent. Sting played his old Precision tele bass and Summer was 70% on a red CS strat and the rest with his Custom Telecaster (I assume it's the original, could be a sig) - all through a Custom Audio head. Copeland had a gigantic kit with the regular drums plus gongs, kettle drums, glockenspiel, and all kinds of shiny, hanging things. He spent the concert jumping onto the upper risers to play the other precussion instruments and then bounding back down for the straight drums. Sting's voice was good only avoiding the highest notes.

 

[bilbal]

I'm assuming it is a DVD. When and where was it recorded? With the CAE it must be the last tour, correct?

I was fortunate to have gotten a ticket to The Police at Fenway as part of that tour. Myself and a friend paid pretty big cash for our seats but it was killer and worth every penny. I had seen them once before on their Syncronicity Tour with REM but that was years ago. They were awesome at Fenway!!!!

Copeland had me captivated the entire evening. Sting and Summers rocked as well. Sting can still nail the vocal parts like he did when he was younger and Summer's is simply one of the best out there. I have always dug his style.

Bill

 

[delay_monster]

My wife and I saw them last summer. It was a great show. I couldn't help but wonder, though, how much of Stewart's auxiliary percussion was actually coming through the FOH--hard to tell which parts were tracks and which parts were Stewart playing live. All of his playing on the drum kit was undoubtedly live, of course.

 

[Smakutus]

I took my family to see them last year and they were very good. I'm glad I got to see them once again. I saw them twice in 1980 and 81 or 82.

Watched a bit of the show last night but the sound wasn't very good on my regular bedroom TV. Too high midrangey. Stings bass was too twangy. Probably because it was mixed for home theater?

Jeff

 

[daddyo]

I'm assuming it is a DVD. When and where was it recorded? With the CAE it must be the last tour, correct?

I was fortunate to have gotten a ticket to The Police at Fenway as part of that tour. Myself and a friend paid pretty big cash for our seats but it was killer and worth every penny. I had seen them once before on their Syncronicity Tour with REM but that was years ago. They were awesome at Fenway!!!!

Copeland had me captivated the entire evening. Sting and Summers rocked as well. Sting can still nail the vocal parts like he did when he was younger and Summer's is simply one of the best out there. I have always dug his style.

Bill

Last year in Buenos Aires during their reunion tour. It was on Detroit PBS. yes there is a DVD called Certifiable.

 

[60HzShuffle]

The DVD set is awesome If I can still use that word...

 

[Bren]

I like this set a lot. They sound terrific, especially Summers. A couple of the songs have backing track percussion sequences, like Wrapped Around Your Finger and Footsteps, and Copeland plays the loose stuff on top of that.

I only wish they'd issue a properly mixed/mastered audio set, because the CDs that came with the DVDs are too loud and muddy. More thoughts below.

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www.jazzshelf.org/police.html

 

[TNJ]

I bought the DVD set yesterday, and will be watching it today.

I saw them when they played Wrigley Field.

Pretty good seats, and a friend drove, so...no hassles the whole trip!

The show at Wrigley was awesome...Sting's son opened up for them.

Not too bad...and damn, does the kid look like Dad or what?

Lucky dude...on many levels.

More after I watch it.

For those out there who want to purchase the DVD set...you can only

get it at Best Buy, I think.

S.
j

 

[tone4days]

i think it is best buy exclusive ... they have it for ~$15 this week on sale (closeout?)

i enjoyed it

still trying to figure out how the 'message in a bottle' harmonies are being produced ... intelligent pitch shifter? backing track? guy under the stage? ... they are clear as a bell in the CD version ... what do you guys think?

 

[Smakutus]

I think they're playing along with samples of Stings background vocal there.

Jeff

 

[tone4days]

ah, my bad for being unclear ...i am talking about the harmony guitar part, most clearly heard at the very beginning of the song before the vocals come in

 

[Jimmy James]

The DVD is better than their live show. I saw them twice on the last tour. It's perfect and that's the way they should be remembered.

 

[Bren]

still trying to figure out how the 'message in a bottle' harmonies are being produced ... intelligent pitch shifter?

I think so, because it matches the accents of the main guitar part, and if it was a backing track, I don't know how Andy would be able to play so tightly with it right from the first bar. Also, in the stereo field, you can hear the harmony part change to a more overdriven rhythm sound for the "I'll send an SOS" prechorus. He had a wet/dry setup with some of the effects spread pretty wide. Anyway, it all sounds live to me.

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www.jazzshelf.org

 

[jammybastard]

I direct concert film/video for a living and the "Certifiable" DVD, especially the Blu-Ray version, is the best looking & sounding concert recording I've ever seen.
Phenomenal production on every level.

 

[derekd]

I looked for it, but haven't seen it. I saw them in May, Elvis Costello opened. Sting came out and sang one with Elvis. Was one of the best shows I have seen, but for $200, I won't go again.

 

[Atmospheric]

UNWATCHABLE. It sounded terrible and I thought the playing was all about, "hey, look at me, the rock star." Especially, Stewart's playing. I actually thought that Andy's playing had improved a bit over the years.

I quit listening halfway through the 2nd song.

Just saying. Different strokes (obviously).

 

[Jimmy James]

I direct concert film/video for a living and the "Certifiable" DVD, especially the Blu-Ray version, is the best looking & sounding concert recording I've ever seen.
Phenomenal production on every level.

I agree. People who saw the tour and not the DVD have no real credible opinion. The DVD is a whole other thing. The DVD is perfect.

 

[isfahani]

I think some of the hi hat parts were farmed in too...

I'm going to skip the commercial DVD as I picked up a very nice copy of a digital broadcast from Japan a few months ago - it beats the SA one by miles
as it it doesn't have all that strobe-o-cinematography that the Buenos Aires one did.

The reason sting was able to hit anything resembling high notes is because they changed the key of some of the songs.

 

[daddyo]

Well, maybe there are different quality broadcasts because the PBS concert show I watched had good sound. Not perfect but good for a live concert. Look at Me I'm a rock star? Well, Sting is a rock star and the people lapped it up.

 

[isfahani]

Look at Me I'm a rock star

I didn't get that in all my years of watching the Police. I think he's a very charismatic and magnetic performer, and he's glad to be playing the music again, so that's what I see.

And it doesn't make me jealous.