Bonnaroo: The Police Leave Us Speechless, Sting Leaves Us Shirtless

1:43 PM EDT on June 17, 2007

A little worse for the wear (damn you budget sunscreen) but Team Stereogum is still riding a Police high. If you watched any of the Vancouver footage -- or even "Roxanne" at the Grammys -- you have a pretty good idea of how tight the reunited trio is. Would Sting have it any other way? Despite Stew's promise that they'd "break all the rules" at the 'Roo, there was no jamming, no surprises. Just hit after hit (most of their new eponymous anthology, in fact), and we can't complain about that. These guys could play the Brimstone & Treacle soundtrack and we'd still freak out. The band took the stage at 9 PM, Stew smashed a gong, and 80,000 people sang "Message In A Bottle." (Sting: "Tennessee, how ya doin'! Ee-yo-oh") "Synchronicity II" and "Walking On The Moon" followed, then "Driven To Tears," an underrated song from the catalog as relevant today as when Mr. Sumner wrote it about Biafra nearly three decades ago. Andy shined on "Regatta De Blanc," and "De Do Do Do De Da Da Da," was more thrilling than expected. Anyway, you see where this was going: all the hits, and the same encore they've performed as of late: "King Of Pain" > "So Lonely" > "Every Breath You Take" (fairly limp, as Sting's spent twenty years reimagining it as a cloying torch song).

They weren't done there, though. After a quick jaunt off stage, the trio returned for one more encore, and Stewart seized the opportunity. "People of Bonnaroo!" he yelled from Sting's mic, "Any minute now Sting is going to take off his clothes and dance among you!" After 80,000 screams, squeals, and laughs, he added, "And if he doesn't ... I will!" With that, off came Gordon's cut-off, and the yogafied torso was on display for Outlandos rocker "Next To You." Nice payoff. The song, we mean. No onstage fistfights, Stew got to show off with a wild octobon workout during "Roxanne," and Andy, was as dexterous as any 65(!) year-old white reggae axeman we know. We're still smiling.

Setlist, pics, and video after the jump...

THE POLICE SETLIST
01 "Message In A Bottle"
02 "Synchronicity II"
03 "Walking On The Moon"
04 "Driven To Tears"
05 "Voices Inside My Head"
06 "Truth Hits Everybody"
07 "Every LIttle Thing She Does Is Magic"
08 "Wrapped Around Your Finger"
09 "The Bed's Too Big Without You"
10 "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"
11 "Walking In Your Footseps"
12 "Can't Stand Losing You" > "Regatta De Blanc"
14 "Roxanne"
________
15 "King Of Pain"
16 "So Lonely"
17 "Every Breath You Take"
________
18 "Next To You"