Ghost In The Machine: 1981/82

Police, Go-Go's Flood Civic Center With New Wave...

Springfield got a taste of commercial New Wave as two of the form's most popular acts performed Wednesday night before a wild sold-out crowd at the Civic Center.

The Police and the Go-Go's put on a tight, catchy show that was skillfully executed but never compelling.

The all-woman, California-based Go-Go's have taken the Top 20 by storm. Their brand of Ventures surf-pop-meets-Gerry and the Pacemakers has found a place on the radios and turntables across America.

After a short turn on the club circuit, the Go-Go's are taking on larger arenas, attempting to broaden the success of their first and only album, "Beauty and the Beat."

Opening for the Police, the Go-Go's swayed through such engaging numbers as 'We Got The Beat' and 'Our Lips Are Sealed'.

Cherubic lead singer Belinda Carlisle's shrill voice commanded center stage, while guitarists Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin blocked out simple, supportive chord patterns.

The Go-Go's material has undeniable charm and vulnerability, but the music never takes on a keen edge; it remains flaccid.

The Go-Go's have the talent and personality to spark further interest. The fact that five women are successfully playing rock in a male-dominated business is no small feat. It is hoped the Go-Go's will take on a cutting edge, rather than lay back and become a cuddly novelty band.

As the lights went low and the Police took the stage, the Civic Center erupted. Thousands of clenched fists were thrust into the air as the crowd greeted this bleached-blonde trio, which in the course of four years has sanitized reggae, fused it with pop, sold millions of albums and laughed all the way to the bank.

After a taped version of 'Voices Inside My Head' boomed through the speakers, the Police tore into a uptempo 'Message in a Bottle'.

This was followed by the most recent hit, the quirky 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic'. It was here that the trio was augmented by a three-piece horn section (tenor and alto saxes and trumpet).

The horns filled in the missing multi-part harmonies and played new charts, plugging gaps in the trio's sound.

With 'Spirits In The Material World' and 'Hungry For You', the horns became a distraction. When filling for voices, the long suspended chords were very powerful; when added charts the playing the arrangements were usually banal. The band itself was always tight. Most impressive drummer Stewart Copeland, who was locked into overdrive from start to finish.

Rather than pound, Copeland twisted and turned, stopped and started, executing the convoluted reggae patterns with ease. His sturdy right foot sent out bass drum cannon shots as he floated over his top kit, busy but never overplaying.

Andy Summers, formerly with Kevin Coyne and Eric Burdon, simply refuses a lot of solo space. His greatest asset is his heavily echoed chord assault, which sent a wash of rhythm over the band.

The handful of solos Summer played were simple repetitive figures offset by a roll of chording. As the chords reverberated, the sleek melodic lines created a dense layer of sound.

Fronting the band was bassist-lead vocalist Sting. His high, thin tenor a problem on past tours good shape, adding a breeziness to all the material.

Like most pop bands, the Police know the importance of a good book. As a result, the songs are loaded with them, all placed with extreme care in exactly the right spot.

Most of the evening's material opened with a slow reggae interlude that would lead into a bouncy, uptempo, sing-along chorus. "Demolition Man," "One World," "Bring On The Night" and "Roxanne" all fit the pattern as Sting coaxed some inspired bellowing from the fans.

There is no doubt about it the Police are exceedingly talented, intelligent craftsmen who can make shallow songs catchy. It's a shame they lack depth; that would have made a fun evening memorable.

(c) The Republican by John Dougan

Police play Center...

The Police and the Go-Gos appeared Wednesday night at the Civic Center before a near sell-out crowd of 9,050 people.

Starting up the show, the Go-Gos performed tunes off 'Beauty and the Beat', their only album - 'Our Lips are Sealed', 'We've Got the Beat' and 'Automatic'.

This five-woman band was in good form, looking like they were having a good time and serving up '60s style pop-rock with lots of good harmonies.

Half an hour later, the Police were on the stage, beginning their set with one of their massive FM hits, 'Message in a Bottle'. Their new line-up, which includes keyboards (at times) and a three-piece horn section sounded tight and full. Since most of their songs do not originally include horns, it would have been more effective to keep them more in the background in some places.

This reggae-influenced rock band, ran through a set which included material from all four of their LPs. 'Demolition Man' and 'Invisible Sun' stood out as especially good tunes from their new LP, 'Ghosts in the Machine'. They also played 'Bring on the Night', 'Shadows in the Rain', 'Can't Stand Losing You', and 'Roxanne'.

Andy Somers, Police guitarist displayed his ability to mix bouncing rhythms with hypnotic leads. Sting was fine on vocals and bass, but Stewart Copeland was amazing on drums, driving the rhythm section with the wild, but so-controlled sound that has certainly become his trademark.

At first I had doubts about whether the Police's sound would convert well to a large arena like Springfield, since in the past they've usually played smaller halls. But they succeeded for sure in making the switchover.

My main complaint about the show was length. Any major rock band that has a horn section, keyboards and a light show, with four LPs under their belt should play longer than 75 to 80 minutes. We all know it's quality that counts, but at $11.50 a shot, I could have used a bit more quantity.

(c) The Daily Hampshire Gazette by Michael Pritchard

Memorable performance by Police...

The Springfield Civic Center's attendance figure for Wednesday's sold-out Police concert was estimated at over 9,000.

But judging from the sheer mass of general admission ticket holders that completely packed the floor and filled the seats to the rafters, the venue's first show of the year and first real new wave bill in too long probably drew closer to ten thousand.

The sell-out came as no surprise considering the tremendous popular appeal of the bleach blonde trio and openers the Go-Go's, but tickets were still available as of Wednesday afternoon.

Both bands gave memorable performances and, after the let-down that came with the cancellation of the October Pretenders show, the night's music offered relief from the treadmill of acts that have frequented the arena.

If the next two months, with the Kinks (Sunday), Cars/Nick Lowe (Feb. 7) and Don McLean/Terri Gibbs (Feb. 21) shows coming up, are any indication, 1982 should be interesting for Springfield.

The Police's 1979 debut album 'Outlandos d'Amour' and its single 'Roxanne' introduced their unmistakeable white reggae laden with a wide variety of rock, funk and other elements, coupled with bassist Sting's high, semi-strained vocals.

Over the next three albums ('Regatta de Blanc', 'Zenyatta Mondatta' and the new 'Ghost In The Machine'), Sting's lyrical knack, like the Police's music itself, attained a subtle intelligence from a deceiving simplicity and platinum status from an unashamed use of pop hooks.

Since the Police, particularly guitarist Andy Summers, make liberal use of overdubs and effects on the albums, a potential bareness of their live sound was expected. Sting and Summer's keyboards and array of pedals and electronic effects and drummer Stewart Copeland's varied mastery of reggae and rock styles kept the music interesting, as did the three-piece horn section.

Having eschewed the background vocals that made 'Roxanne's' chorus on the record, the activated brass pushed the live version of the song into a driving romp.

The Police chose the best material from the four albums for their live show, they opened with 'Message in a Bottle' from 'Regatta de Blanc', then chose two uplifting songs, 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic' and 'Spirits In The Material World', from the new album. The harder edges that typify 'Ghost In The Machine' were also evident on 'Demolition Man' and 'One World (Not Three)'.

The band also performed all of their radio hits, including 'When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around', 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da' and 'Don't Stand So Close To Me'. The calmer 'Walking On The Moon' and 'Invisible Sun' contrasted to the songs with more rock and roll that closed the concert - 'I Can't Stand Losing You' and 'So Lonely' from the 'Outlandos d'Amour'.

Though clearly influenced by the "girl groups," surf rockers the Ventures and punk rock, the Go-Go's are definitely not another 60's rehash or parody, as their nine-song set proved.

The band confidently charged through most of the material from their debut 'Beauty and the Beat', plus a funky cover of the Capitols' 'Cool Jerk'.

Lead singer Belinda Carlisle, guitarists Charlotte Caffey and Jane Weidlin, drummer Gina Schock and bassist Kathy Valentine started the Civic Center audience moving with solid dance music that can appeal to most rock fans, from the punks to the Top 40 audience.

(c) The Morning Union by Nick Imelio