Concert Review: Andy Summers @ The Egg (Hart Theatre), 10/11/2023

By Mark Hudson On Oct 14, 2023

Andy Summers, best known for being the guitarist in the incredibly popular band The Police, presented his “The Cracked Lense and a Missing String” tour at the Hart Theatre at The Egg.

It’s an intriguing concept; a one-man show. Just Summers, his guitars, his photography, and his anecdotes. And it’s a concept that didn’t quite come off Wednesday night.

For starters, this was the fourth night of the tour, so technical issues should have been sorted by now. Unfortunately, not. There were constant problems causing delays and conversations between Summers and his guitar tech. Summers joked that he “was wired up like a deep-sea diver,” that he maybe should have “played acoustic,” then “I should go back to the folk clubs,” and then again, “this could be my last show.” All good-natured, but the frequent interruptions did spoil the flow.

Summers is a droll raconteur with a pleasing, self-deprecating wit. This I know from having read his book “One Train Later” (2006), a fine autobiography that I heartily recommend to anyone. In fact, it is one of the best books written by a musician that I have ever read (and I’ve read a lot of them).

But again, Summers was just a little off with his anecdotes, failing to land their punchlines. For example, a promising story about meeting up with John Belushi in Bali, indulging in magic mushroom omelets, and then coming across a van with a wrap proclaiming “Tarzan the ape man” just kinda petered out with “then we went swimming with some of the locals.” Summers has had an amazing career, and I would have liked to have heard tales of his pre-Police work with such characters as Kevin Coyne, Kevin Ayers, Eric Burdon, and yes, even Neil Sedaka! Or later collaborations with Robert Fripp. Oh well, maybe next time.

That Summers, now 80 but looking sharp and fit, is still a consummate guitarist isn’t in doubt. He played a variety of material in different styles, the most effective being a sensitive reading of “Round Midnight” by an early influence, Thelonius Monk, and two delicate Brazilian pieces inspired by his love of the 1959 Marcel Camus movie “Black Orpheus.”

Less effective were some of his own compositions that utilized echoplex effects and meandered pleasantly but could have used some editing. And his decision to play numerous Police hits by just playing the vocal melody lines on guitar accompanied by a very cheesy Casio keyboard-sounding drum and bass preset program was puzzling. These songs would surely have worked better either as solo acoustically or with a real flesh-and-blood rhythm section.

A large screen behind him displayed Summers’ photography throughout the set, mostly without comment. Another missed opportunity, as it would have been nice to occasionally know what we were looking at and what Summers was thinking when he created these images, some of which were striking and wonderfully evocative.

The sparse crowd in attendance were clearly devotees, though, and responded enthusiastically throughout.

For me, however, “The Cracked Lense and a Missing String” is an interesting concept by a massively talented and original artist that just needs a little fine-tuning to fully convince.

Setlist: