Reunited and it feels so good!

When the annual Grammy Awards are broadcast this Sunday on CBS, the show is expected to open with a spectacular event, the first public performance of The Police (Sting, Stewart Copeland, Andy Summers) in 17 years or so. I will have the DVR roaring and will be watching. Only a nuclear bomb down the street will prevent me from that task.
I saw The Police twice in my life – both times in Austin. The first was in the Super Drum (Frank Erwin Center) for the Ghosts in the Machine tour (unknown to me was that my future wife was also there) and later in 1984, for the Synchronicity Tour with 45,000 others in the Austin Meadows, a large open field with a stage.
In both cases, Joe “King” Carrasco and the Crowns played nuevo wavo for the group and UB40 played at the Meadows event.
Since I got married in 2001, I have seen a handful of memorable concerts, including Sting, Bruce Springsteen and the reunited E Street Band for “The Rising” and U2 twice (Vertigo and Elevation tours).
But this Sunday’s event got me thinking – who would I want to see reunite for a major tour. I’ve informed the wife that if The Police come to Dallas, we are THERE! But who else?
Before I reveal my list, here’s who cannot be on it – any group with significant members who are deceased. That eliminates The Beatles, The Who (sorry but Roger Daltrey and Peter Townsend need Keith Moon and John Entwistle), The Band, the Beach Boys, the Cars (the late Ben Orr sang most of the leads), the Grateful Dead and the Doors. Many of these groups still “exist,” but they are just not the same.
I would like to see Chicago with Peter Cetera, Journey with Steve Perry and Foreigner with Lou Gramm and Mick Jones. If Van Halen is planning a reunion tour, they need to bury ALL hatchets and go with the original lineup of Eddie and Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth and Michael Anthony.
Springsteen could tour again with his E Street folks (which means Miami Steve Van Zandt will be free once “The Sopranos” is finished and Clarence Clemons’ health is better).
Here are the tours I’d like to see:
The Police
Dire Straits – Mark Knopfler is simply one of the greatest guitarists and to hear a concert hall filled with “Telegraph Road” or “Heavy Fuel” would be sensational.
Pink Floyd – They reunited for last year’s “Live Aid” so there IS hope to have David Palmer and Roger Waters perform together.
Sly and the Family Stone – The originators of funk did a number at last year’s Grammys. If someone can get Sly off whatever medication he’s on and into a decent barbershop, it is also possible.
Simon and Garfunkel – They were the surprise a couple of years ago and have done a few mini-tours. One last fling would be greatness.
Finally, I’d love to see the Arc Angels reunite. Don’t know them? After Stevie Ray Vaughn’s untimely death, his backup group, Double Trouble, joined Austin legend guitarist Charlie Sexton and Doyle Brahmall III for one of the greatest, purest Texas rock albums EVER! And then, POOF! they were gone.
Oh, the horror! Comeback, Arc Angels! A nation lifts its lonely eyes to you.