The Police concert at MSG

I only really discovered The Police just as they were breaking up. The Fall of '87 Columbia University freshman facebook poll listed U2, The Police, and Madonna as our class'es favorite artists. But I attended my first Sting concert a year later, for the tour for his first solo record, "The Dream of the Blue turtles," still one of my all-time favorite albums. In the interrim, I have made up for lost time & now own every Police album, single & DVD you could imagine. I know the words to pretty much every Police song ever written by Sting and have seen him perform in a Broadway musical. So when I recently heard The Police were getting back together and were touring, I knew I had to be see them.

While spiraling up the stairs at MSG at a casual 8:10pm last night, my friends & I thought for a moment that Sting had gone on early, so we started sprinting to our seats at the top of Tower D. Then we realized we did not know the tune, and realized it had to be the opening act. It turns out, our confusion was justified as "Fiction Plane," the band opening for The Police, is fronted by Sting's son, Joe Sumner. There is a raspy, pregnant quality to Sumner's voice that really sounds like his delicious Dad.

My group felt Sumner did better on the ballads than on the heavy rock songs his band played. But his voice really is quite wonderful, and his lyrics are quite meaningful. Unfortunately, I could not understand him during the concert. It was only when I googled him today on My Space, that I got more of a feeling of what "Fiction Plane" is all about. He ended the set with his hit, Two Sisters which seemed to suit his voice very well. The apple doesn't fall very far from the tree, and Sumner is committed to social & political commentary. His tracks Hate and Death Machine remind me of the pointedly barbed Invisible Sun. Sumner doesn't quite have the presence or the personality to carry off MSG, yet... but I would love to see where this fellow's music is headed and feel that I will very much enjoy witnessing the journey.

The stadium once again grew dark and the crowd shushed before exploding in screams as bright white spotlights fired up the stage and two well known figures came up and took their places - Andy Summers at stage left and Stewart Copeland on his platform behind his drum set. The cheers and roars reached a crescendo as Sting walked onstage in a white tank top. The Police opened with Synchronicity II and the video screens popped with the primary colors that dappled the covers of the LP. They then segued into Message in a Bottle.


Most of the crowd seemed to know every word of every song by heart and was happy to oblige Sting's request to chime in. The consensus was that he played EVERYTHING. You name any popular police tune; he played it. Don't Stand So Close to Me, Walking in Your Footsteps, Driven to Tears, De Do Do Do, De Da da da, Voices Inside my head, So Lonely...

The video display editing was very well done. There were a number of screens displaying 3 separate images from the different camera feeds at any one time. I must confess, I was glued to the Sting cam, but I managed to tear myself away when the focus shifted to a close up of Andy Summers' hands during a particularly strong solo riff.

Stewart Copeland's strong performance belied his anemic look. At times, we feared he was going to explode or faint. But as usual, he provided the amazing backbone of the performance. The audience cheered when he moved to another platform to use a different drum set-up for "King of Pain" and "I'll be Wrapped Around Your Finger" that allowed him to produce those unmistakable xylophone-y sounds.

"I'll be Wrapped Around Your Finger" was probably my favorite number. If you know the video, you will remember the gorgeous effect of the spiral candle display that completely surrounded the musicians. The lighting design team should be congratulated for recreating a similar effect with circular spotlights. They swirled on the floor & just looked amazing.

The Police played Roxanne during the end of the concert and drove the audience wild. The band played 2 encores. The first encore brought us Can't Stand Losing You. The second encore delivered Every Breath You Take. They ended with the interesting choice of All I Want is to Be Next to You. It was bittersweet for me to see the video display during the last encore set. Some of the screens played footage from the Synchronicity video and showed a much younger trio.

They are obviously in great shape to have played two solid hours without a break. Sting treated us to a few of his signature jumps, and he graciously allowed Andy Summers to take the final leap off the drum platform. Then they all walked to the front of the stage and held hands as they took their last bow.

It had all the elements of a fantastic concert: performers with enormous talent, an awesome repertoire, amazing visuals, a charismatic and gorgeous front-man. Everyone in my group felt that it was one of the best concert we had ever seen in our lives. Except for Rudy. It was his absolute favorite. But, then again, it was his first concert ever!

Wintuk Wow

Tonight, my dear friend, Micheline, invited me to see the newest Cirque du Soleil production, Wintuk. The show was an acrobatic circus performance about a little boy who goes on a magical journey to strange lands in order to see snow.

Everything about the evening was magical. The show was amazing. The skill of the acrobats and their generous performances were tremendous.

Each movement of the performers was so intricate that they could not afford not to be present. One mis-step and they would injure not only themselves but their fellow performers as well. Being in the moment for them is not optional, but rather a requirement in order to operate at the level of mastery which they need to accomplish their acrobatic feats. In the beginning of the show, for example, a robber steals a package and runs away. He is chased and caught by a policeman on a bicycle. The cop & robber perform an intricate dance in which the cop goes on one tire & jumps around the torso of the robber who is on his back on the floor. At one point, the cop on the bike jumps around the thief's torso and hops on his front tire from one side of his head to the other, over his face!

It was quite engaging to be in the presence of so many gifted people totally vibrant & completely in the moment. They gave so much of themselves, and I was moved by their artistry and spirit.

Miche & I found the audience amusing. A typical jaded NY audience sat while onstage, performers jumped backwards & forwards, juggled 7 pins, leapt into the air. The smaller children were enraptured, but many of the older children and adults seemed unfazed by the magic going on in front of them. At one point, Miche asked me "What do they have to do to get real applause from this NY audience?"

At the end of the show, paper snowflakes floated down over the entire theater, covering performers and audience members alike. Just then I felt about six years old, and I'm not too proud to admit I had tears rolling down my cheeks.

I am so grateful to my friend, Micheline, for inviting me. Truth be told, she had to ask me twice. At first, I believed the story that I was afraid of the circus, but then I chose to put that aside and boy am I glad I did!

Halloween Bash

I celebrated Halloween for the third and final time at Columbus 72, Swing dancing to music provided by the always fabulous Joe Battaglia & the NY Big Band. Joe & his "boys" were wonderful and provided hours of great music to enjoy on the dance floor or from the sidelines. Many thanks to Joe for always giving us his best and really bringing Big Band music & Latin music to life with excellence.

Tonight, I was a cow-girl sheriff. I was ridin' the fences, roping doggies, hanging with my good friend Micheline, aka Marie-Antoinette. We had a good time watching the crowd, enjoying the various costumes. Our friend, Andy, put together a wonderful wizard costume complete with a glowing orb that changed colors. Stylish Suzanne used her talents for dressing store windows & designing sets to scare up an undead flapper outfit. We were dazzled by Zorro, one of my favorite regular dancers to admire, who is aways entertaining to watch.

Halloween has always been one of my favorite days of the year. I realized that it is a day where people give themselves permission: permission to have fun, to be creative, to express themselves, to explore a different side of themselves, to be zany, to disregard their thoughts about what other people (including ourselves!) will say. Now, we all have an inner "governor" who can be more or less loud & bossy, depending upon how much we invest in what others think. On Halloween, though, folks seem to be willing to give the "governor" a blessed night off. Of course, once we recognize that we have this "governor," we can choose to operate as if everyday is Halloween. Um... minus the wigs or skimpy skirts -or not... depending upon your line of work or hobbies, I suppose. ;-) Awareness, frees us from the conversation in our head.

For me, this freedom definitely followed in my dancing. I was able to ditch my thoughts & pay attention to the music, rather than my judgments about my lack of proficiency at dancing. I was also able to try different styles from Swing to Hip Hop and just have FUN with it.

Fellow dance enthusiasts Calvin, Suzanne, Will & friends were there to cast a spell on their dance partners.

Book Promotion: "Being Here"

I am quite excited because one of my favorite books, "Being Here", by Ariel & Shya Kane, is doing well on the Amazon charts. My friend, Valerie, let me know about a special promotion, and I thought I would pass the information along. The book is lovely to read and would make a fabulous Christmas gift! I invite you to check out "Being Here".

Valerie writes,

I’d like to let you know about a special promotion for an incredible book written by Ariel & Shya Kane, award-winning authors, seminar leaders, consultants and my personal coaches and friends. I have never encountered anything as effective, profound and enlivening as the Kanes’ work and it has made a tremendous impact on my life. Their book, “Being Here, Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment,” was just released this September and is now available in stores and online. This book - a simple yet extraordinary collection of stories that inspire, amuse, entertain and enlighten - has already been met with critical acclaim.

If you buy this book on Amazon.com this WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7th, you will receive many free gifts, including the book in downloadable audio format! Here is the link where you can get all of the details:

http://www.ask-inc.com/specialoffer/

You just have to purchase the book on Wednesday, November 7th on Amazon to get the bonus gifts. This is an incredible opportunity to discover a new possibility for well-being everywhere in your life. This book, and the Kane's work, is so simple yet so powerful. This new book is an excellent resource that supports you all areas of your life.

I'm off to see the Wizard

After a great time at the , "Living a Magical Life" workshop, it was time to celebrate Halloween again. Here I am with Andy the Scarecrow & my little dog too.

Halloween at the Yale Club

A small group of us attended a lively function to usher in this year's Halloween festivities. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I find it very magical and filled with possibility. You can literally be anyone for a day. Way cool! This party at the Yale club was a wonderful way to start off the festivities.

Here is Druce surrounded by Glam Girl & Marilyn Monroe.

The Mom is always greener on the other side of the fence.

I had a really wild conversation w/ my Mom I wanted to share. Our conversations (or my story of them) usually went this way:

Alex: “Hello?”
Vilma: “Hello sweetheart, I’m reading this fascinating article on the discovery of pulsars in astronomy & their relation to narrowing down the age of the universe, while watching the military channel w/ one eye & Masterpiece Theater’s stunning rendition of all 23 hours of Wagner’s Gotterdammerung w/ the other. How about You?”
Alex: “Um, That’s nice. Turn on Channel 24. The Girls Next Door is on about Hugh Heffner & his 2 girlfriends & his main squeeze, Holly. Today they’re going to Aspen to ski.”
Vilma: “That sounds odious! How can you waste your time w/ such drivel!”
Alex: “Gee Mom, you’re so judgmental. I wish you could be open to new things. You’re a stinky person. I gotta go, bye.”

But the other day, the conversation went more like this:

Vilma: “Oh, I’m so upset, I have been looking everywhere for the song that Jordin girl sang on American Idol. I think she’s magnificent! And only 17!! Do you know where I can find it? Can you download her performance for me on the Internet? And did you hear about Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt separating b/c she won’t stay home w/ the children. I am aghast!”
Alex: “Ma, what happened to you? Who are you? When was the last time you read Proust or Tolstoy? What happened to the equation of a slope you were working on? How have you sunk so low?”

My reaction was so wild b/c it revealed some funny things to me about myself:

a) be careful what you wish for…
b) Truth is, my Mom is darned if she doesn’t and still darned if she does. When I am being a brat, nothing she can do will please me b/c at that moment I am "un-please-able." How does she put up w/ me when I am being bratty?
c) I can sometimes, once in a while, only on days ending in a “y”, be judgmental... Yup, you heard it here first!

This time, when I saw the brattiness & the judgments, instead of cowering in shame, beating myself up & doing nothing to further our relationship, I started laughing at myself & fessed up to my Mom. We had a good time, relaxed and had fun with each other. Wait till I tell her Brangelina put little Maddox at my old school...