The Police’s Andy Summers Comes to Dallas To Share a Storied Life

On a night when most people nervously awaited our nation’s fate, die-hard fans of The Police got a bit of peace at the Moody Performance Hall with a Tuesday concert by legendary guitarist Andy Summers.

The musician kicked things off by saying, “Music over politics.” And for the most part, that was the case.

This was Summers’ second time through Dallas on his “The Cracked Lens + a Missing String” tour. The show is an interactive trip through Summers’ life told through stories, photographs, video and, of course, his signature guitar.

Summers had his customary guitar setup, backed up by pre-recorded tracks. He was experimenting with looping techniques long before they were a mainstream thing. Looping is a technique that layers repeating guitar phases to build complex soundscapes, and Summers has done it at least as far back as The Police’s Ghost in the Machine album in 1981.

A large screen enhanced the show with slides of photos mostly taken by Summers, with other relevant themes and videos weaving in and out. At one point, there was a stream of old French Movie posters that tied into a story about how he loved seeing these old films and how they had a lasting effect on his artistic style.

Andy Summers is still best known as the guitarist for one of the best bands of all time. He was, briefly, a member of both The Soft Machine and the Animals before he joined The Police in 1977. He started playing guitar when he was 10 and began performing in clubs before he was 21. Summers became a jazzhead and was highly influenced by watching Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk as a teen.

The Police’s lead guitarist was also viewed as the quiet one by default next to an icon such as Sting, so hearing Summers tell stories was both revealing and surreal. But it’s not that he’s been quiet: Summers has published eight books, some of photos, some short stories and a memoir, One Train Later.

Summers started the show with the song “True Nature” from his 2017 release Triboluminescence. It’s an Andy Summers song to the core, with the familiar, ethereal guitar synth bed. Summers soloed and improvised while a dreamy black-and-white series of nature slides glided by and as the song built. When it turned to color, the whole room brightened as the screen and song changed seasons.

There were well-timed moments when Summers appeared on the video screen playing rhythm while the IRL Andy Summers played the live lead part.

Summers mixed in stories of his travels from all over the world. His unique access as a member of an internationally successful band was a main focus of those stories and many of the photos. It was like a direct peek inside his creative mind and eventful career, from the airports, to the models, to the backstage antics, to the lonely motels. Summers could have been a successful photographer even without the band. He has a truly unique, worldly perspective and the night was filled with years of these images streaking by in moments.

The first of the handful of Police songs was “Tea in the Sahara,” from the band’s most succesful album, Synchronicity. The already airy and desolate song was complemented by Summers’ photos of the Sahara and mixed in with surreal imagery of cups and teapots. It’s quite possible the photos of the Sahara were from the very trip that inspired the song in the first place.

The night was a relaxing evening of stories and song. Eddie Murphy even introduced the song “Roxanne” by way of a clip of his classic scene from the film 48 Hours. That led to what was much like an interactive music video, with shots of winding streets with an animation filter on top. On those streets, Summers was around the corner, again backing himself up on the video while the real Summers played live.

Andy Summers’ show was a great reminder of the timelessness of his music, but also his artistry. He keeps re-inventing himself while staying true to his creative spirit. This was a memorable evening for those who made it out to see this living legend in the flesh. On a night of high stress around the country, a lucky few were able to forget it all for a few hours and get lost in the dream world of Andy Summers.