by Jon Bauer
The San Francisco crowd is being treated to two very special nights. One of the best and larger than life drummers to ever live, Stewart Copeland – who – do I need to tell you?, was the drummer for one of the largest bands in the world – The Police – visits the beautiful Miner Auditorium at SFJAZZ for TWO NIGHTS. Copeland began the evening with “Let’s play some hits!” And they sure did!
In 2006, he cobbled together Super 8 footage that he shot throughout his career in The Police, and created a documentary, “Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out” and he then realized that he needed a soundtrack for it, so he re-arranged and re-imagined many classic Police hits into his soundtrack / album “Police Deranged For Orchestra.” In these performances, local conductor Edwin Outwater worked with The San Francisco Conservatory of Music students – including 3 female singers, a harpist, guitarist, bassist, and a plethora of string and wind instruments to complete the big sound.
Copeland is a man who loves his work! His avuncular appearance belies a slightly irreverent streak – telling the audience about being stung by a bee on Mount Tamalpais whilst under the influence. Bobbing around the stage, he embodies a childlike playfulness. Stewart left his kit and moved to the center of the stage, asking, “What do you call a drummer that loses one drumstick?” as he dropped one of his. A conductor of course, as he gleefully conducted his self-written piece “The Equalizer Busy Equalizing.” While the crowd showed their appreciation, and he walked back to his set, stage left, he told the crowd “I wrote that” as they launched into “Beds Too Big Without You.”
Another fun moment was when he put on a guitar with the crowd cheering him on. He looked up and said “yes, I can!” as many didn’t know he also was a guitarist. He then quipped “I just wanted to see how fun it is to play power chords with an orchestra” as he experimented with the concept. It WAS fun, and sounded great juxtaposed with the more serious tone of the show.
After working through most of The Police’s biggest hits including “Every Breath You Take,” “Don’t Stand So Close To Me,” “Message In A Bottle,” and “Can’t Stand Losing You” he briefly left the stage before performing his encore “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.” Friday night was magic at SFJAZZ.
