The Police find their rhythm, but for how long?

Tension remains
After the requisite early standard “Walking on the Moon,” which highlighted Sting’s underrated bass playing and Copeland’s unparalleled hi-hat chops, those two musicians engaged in what might very well have been their second dysfunctional moment. Or not.

Right as Sting was about to commence his “One, two, three, four” opening of “Truth Hits Everybody,” Copeland stood up and addressed the seating sections directly behind the stage, claiming he hadn’t noticed them until that moment. Sting sat down on his monitor, staring at his drummer until Copeland’s whimsical moment, then barked, “Are we ready now?”

Fortunately, if those were bad vibes, they didn’t last long.

“Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” was played and sung perfectly, an exquisite “Wrapped Around Your Finger” featured Copeland on a percussion set complete with timpani and a xylophone, and “Bed’s Too Big Without You” brought back the band’s reggae roots. “Murder By Numbers,” the song Sting said televangelist Jimmy Swaggart claimed was written by Satan, reminded the crowd of the group’s devilish wit and political bite.

In fact, when Sting forcefully sang the last verse (“But you can reach the top of your profession / If you become the leader of the land / For murder is the sport of the elected / And you don’t need to lift a finger of your hand”), his sense of disdain for today’s world leaders was proven with a carefully enunciated expletive to enhance the last word.

The rest of the set clicked as if the Police had never taken a day — let alone almost 25 years — off.

“De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” got the crowd moving, “Invisible Sun” drove home the anti-war message with video images of Iraqi children, and Copeland powered “Walking in Your Footsteps” with his percussive panache. “Can’t Stand Losing You” rocked the house, especially when the band tore into their instrumental Grammy winner from 1981, “Regatta De Blanc,” in the middle.

A funky, slightly experimental “Roxanne” was fittingly bathed in red light, and the encore numbers of “King of Pain,” “So Lonely,” “Every Breath You Take” and “Next to You” plus the Police’s group bow and seemingly giddy exit from the stage indicated that there might just have been a feeling of, well, friendship up there on stage.

In other words, the Police are back and it’s a good thing, even if you really do have to wonder how long it’s going to last.

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