every little thing i do...

It happened, and I wasn’t prepared. I missed the first opportunity, but wasn’t about to let the second (and possibly last) slip by. So, even though I felt fairly certain they would be difficult to obtain, I mustered up some faith and gave it a go. And a mere 20 minutes later, I was in possession of tickets to see The Police at Giants Stadium.

I was so excited, I had butterflies in my stomach. Isn’t that bizarre? I mean, all I did was buy tickets. And bad ones at that (upper deck). And the show isn’t for months. But I was seriously excited.

My friend, Rina, and I went to see them in August 1983. We had wanted to see them at Sullivan Stadium in Foxboro, but tickets sold out too fast. Then, an incredible thing happened. My Dad -- knowing how much we wanted to go to the concert -- bought us tickets to see them in Hartford. If he hadn’t already been declared the coolest dad ever, that gesture cemented it! Then, we just had to get from New Hampshire to Connecticut.

I didn’t have my license, and Rina did. Her parents wouldn’t let her take their car. So my parents allowed Rina to drive our car to Hartford and back. As it turned out, we both did some driving. But that’s a very long story for another day. We drove to Springfield, Massachusetts where we visited my Aunt Bobbie and Uncle Don and then stayed overnight at my sister’s apartment. The day of the show, it was raining. We drove from Springfield to Hartford, arriving so early that we just sat in the car (for what now seems like a couple hours) before venturing into the arena. Rina took a picture of me holding a lighter under the tickets with an evil look in my eye – as if I would ever burn anything so precious as concert tickets.

Naturally, Rina and I are going together to this summer’s show, too. It will be almost exactly 24 years since we saw them in Hartford. I swear I’m not old enough for that to be possible. Speaking of which, don’t you agree that Andy Summers looks amazing for 65? I think 60 is the new 35, which makes me a teenager after all!

In any event, I’m going to see the Police again, and I can’t wait. Jon Pareles wrote a great article about them in the February 18th New York Times. Take the time and read it. It’s well worth the time. But before I close this entry with that article, here is a not-so-random song combination played recently on my iPod. I’m telling you, this technology is smart. I loved this grouping of songs.

"Love & Kisses" Sam Phillips
"Full Moon Full of Love" k.d. lang
"Transcontinental, 1:30AM" Vienna Teng
"Back to the Middle" India.Arie

They Can Play. Can They Play Nice?
By JON PARELES

In a high-ceilinged studio at the Lions Gate film complex earlier this month, the Police were rehearsing for a very public first gig: opening the Grammy Awards broadcast last Sunday with their 1978 hit ''Roxanne'' before announcing a world tour the next day. Sting, 55, on bass; Andy Summers, 64, on guitar; and Stewart Copeland, 54, on drums, were working through a list of two dozen songs. For the first time in decades the Police would be back together for more than one night. ''I've trapped myself back 30 years,'' Sting said.

Read the rest here.