Setlist

01	Message In A Bottle
01	Walking On The Moon
02	Demolition Man
03	Voices Inside My Head
04	When The World Is Running Down
05	Don't Stand So Close To Me
06	Driven To Tears
07	Hole In My Life
08	Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
09	Wrapped Around Your Finger
10	De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
11	Invisible Sun
12	Can't Stand Losing You
13	Roxanne
14	King Of Pain
15	So Lonely
16	Every Breath You Take
17	Next To You

The Police are a reunion worth waiting for...

Fergie and The Police performed in a strange double billing at Western Springs in Auckland...

When you're seeing a band who last toured more than two decades ago, you don't expect the biggest fans there to be 12-year-olds.

"Are you here for Fergie?" I asked one of the pint-sized punters next to me.

"No," she said. "The Police."

The tweenies seemed to enjoy opener Fergie's high-energy set, but it was clear they were there for the main event.

And that seemed to be the case for most who packed into an almost full Western Springs Stadium.

Many were still filing into the venue when the Black Eyed Peas singer hit the stage at 8.20pm.

After the first couple of songs, including hits London Bridge and Clumsy, the singer added some local flavour by throwing a bag of pineapple lumps into the crowd as a lead-in to a song about her 'lady
lumps' - 'My Humps'.

But there was still little response when she urged the crowd to sing along with "my humps, my humps."

The set included a medley of snippets from Black Eyed Peas songs and, in a surprising but smart nod to her audience, a handful of classic rock covers.

There was no repeat of Wellington's wardrobe mishap, when she played the first three songs with the fly of her white trousers open.

But she left the stage twice during the 40-minute set for costume changes, leaving her dancers and musicians to keep the crowd entertained.

A 'dance off' costume break proved to be one of the show's highlights.

The Police brought the crowd straight to their feet with the first track, 'Message in a Bottle'.

"It's good to be back. It only took us 27 years," Sting said.

He looked in good shape for a 56-year-old, but there was still no excuse for the super-tight trousers and cut-off T-shirt exposing his midriff.

Drummer Stewart Copeland was channeling the '80s in bandanna and gloves, and dived between drums and an elaborate percussion set-up which rose from the stage behind him.

The trio looked to be relaxed and enjoying themselves on stage.

But momentum dropped at times as they alternated between hits - 'Walking on the Moon', 'Don't Stand So Close to Me', 'I Can't Stand Losing You' - and lesser known tracks.

The heavy-handed images of sad, wide-eyed children being displayed on the big screens behind the band was a low point.

The main set ended with a lengthy and strangely flat version of 'Roxanne' - with Sting chosing not to stretch his voice to all the high notes he used to.

A first encore included 'King of Pain', 'So Lonely' and 'Every Breath You Take'.

The crowd were thrilled to have them return a second time - though guitarist Andy Summers didn't bother leaving the stage, prefering to stay and milk the applause.

And just in case we'd forgotten the fresh-faced and youthful popstars they were, the final song was accompanied by shots of the band in their hey day.

That's something the 12-year-old beside me wouldn't remember - but that didn't stop her enjoying every minute.

"It was so good," she gushed. "I loved it."

© Stuff.co.nz by Heather McCracken

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