The Police kick off world tour

The Police kicked off their first world tour in nearly 24 years on Monday (May 28th) in Vancouver at the General Motors Place, before 20,000 fans. The trio performed in the round, and opened the show with 1979's "Message In A Bottle," and interspersed deep album cuts and fan favorites. The band did not perform any solo material by either Sting, Andy Summers, or Stewart Copeland.

The complete set list is as follows:
"Message In A Bottle"
"Synchronicity II"
"Spirits In The Material World"
"Voices Inside My Head/When The World Is Running Down"
"Don't Stand So Close To Me"
"Driven To Tears"
"Walking On The Moon"
"Truth Hits Everybody"
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"
"Wrapped Around Your Finger"
"The Bed's Too Big Without You"
"Murder By Numbers"
"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"
"Invisible Sun"
"Walking In Your Footsteps"
"Can't Stand Losing You/Reggatta De Blanc"
"Roxanne"
Encore:
"King of Pain"
"So Lonely"
"Every Breath You Take"
Second Encore:
"Next To You"

According to fan reports on the band's official website thepolice.com, the setlist was identical to a special fan-club only warm-up show the band had played at the same venue the night before, for 4,000 fans, with one minor change made in the show's order.

The Police perform again in Vancouver tomorrow night (Wednesday, May 30th). They'll play their first U.S. dates on June 6th and 7th in Seattle at the Key Arena at the Seattle Center. During their U.S. leg, which stretches through August, the band has three festival shows booked. On June 16th they'll appear at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee and on July 7th, they'll appear at the Live Earth concert in East Rutherford, New Jersey at Giants Stadium. On August 4th, the band will perform at the Virgin Festival in Baltimore at the Pimlico Race Track.

The Police will be on the road through November, with additional dates expected to be announced for next year.

The Police will release a 28-track, self-titled, career-spanning greatest hits CD on June 5th.

The Police kicked off their last world tour, in support of their Synchronicity album, on July 23rd, 1983 at Chicago's Comiskey Park. That tour wrapped up on March 4th, 1984 in Melbourne, Australia.