Andy Summers: A Cracked Lens + A Missing String

It isn’t often when there is an event that captures the two subjects that I have studied and enjoy the most: music and photography. This particular show titled A Cracked Lens + A Missing String brought me to Montreal Canada to see Andy Summers—guitar player and one third of the rock band The Police, who also happens to be a photographer.

Having spend many years documenting life with his Leica camera, Andy presented some of his black & white photographs on the large theatre screen while playing songs for two hours from his solo career, a few covers, and a few by The Police.

In between songs he told some stories, about visiting Spain and Rio de Janeiro to spending time in Thailand taking mushrooms with John Belushi.

During the intermission the audience were entertained with a short clip from the film, Can’t Stand Losing You: Surviving The Police. In it, Andy was out shooting photographs at night while walking through a city in Japan. He passed a small karaoke bar where a group of people were singing a song by The Police. He went in, started singing with them, and at the end, removed his winter hat to reveal his identity. They were blow away.

Setlist

True Nature
Metal Dog
The Bones of Twang Zu
The Last Dance of Mr. X
Tea in the Sahara (The Police song)
'Round Midnight (Thelonious Monk cover)
Spain
Roxanne (The Police song)
Interlude (Video Intermission)
Manhã de carnaval (Luiz Bonfá cover)
A Felicidade (Vinicius de Moraes cover)
Triboluminescence
Spirits in the Material World (The Police song)
Bring On the Night (The Police song)

Encore:
Message in a Bottle (The Police song)