Ghost In The Machine: 1981/82

Police concert was powerful, great show...

Touring in support of its new 'Ghost in the Machine' LP, the Police played to a crowd of 12,500 Monday night at Market Square Arena with an enormous showing of power and personal energy.

Sting, the band's central and dominating figure, was so wired up with excitement that he bounced his lithe frame about the stage as if it were a snapped rubber band. With guitarist Andy Summers, drummer Stewart Copeland and a fine three-piece horn section, he kept the evening's supply of music rolling steadily for an hour-and-a-half.

A long-time jazz bassist, Sting opened the show playing a lean "cut-down" stand-up electric bass. The jazz influence goes a long way with this band: It's most evident in the way they break down the beat to jam. The first tune the Police played was 'Message in the Bottle', and from then on the band barely took time to pause between songs.

The Police followed up with a few other recent hits, "Every- thing Little Thing She Does is Magic" and "Spirits in the Material World." Everything they played was fresh and alive, and effective use of lighting made for good visual and mood contrasts.

Sting's voice, a rich relaxed thing in the mid-range that goes pleasingly vulnerable on the high notes, is perfect for the changeable music the band plays. As the emphasis shifts smoothly between jazz, reggae, soul and funk, the band stays right on top. Sting worked into a terrific jam on 'Demolition Man', leaning into his stand-up bass and letting his voice sway with emotion.

Bathed in mysterious orange and violet lights which abruptly switched into a line of hot white spotlights a few times, the band next played 'Walking on the Moon'. Especially during this song, the band's relaxed style made them appear so strong. One can't help but wonder at such casually displayed skill and talent.

Closing the set with 'Roxanne', one of its first hits, the crowd heartily cheered them to return. After nearly a four-minute ovation, the Police returned for 'Don't Stand So Close to Me' and a long version of 'I Can't Stand Losing'. They left the stage but were called back once more for a second encore. At the end, the entire ensemble joined at the front of the stage for a deep bow.

Joan Jett and the Black Hearts opened the show. The crowd was definitely with her all the way as she powered along with her solid guitar-playing and commanding vocal style. Her stage manner has been developed and carefully honed since she played the Vogue last January: She's more than a reckless rocker now - she's got presence and a lot of raw emotion backing up her strong singing style.

She played a number of songs from her current LP, 'I Love Rock'n'Roll', including the title track, 'Victim of Circumstance', 'Nag', and her fine cover of Tommy James' 'Crimson and Clover'.

Closing her 45-minute set with '(You Make Me Want to) Shout!', Jett and her band were well deserving of the strong audience response they received.

A note on the crowd: Though the folks attending the concert were a mostly polite and eager bunch, police arrested 42 youths during the event. Two were arrested for exposing themselves by urinating in public, and 10 were arrested for possession of marijuana. One adult was arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

(c) The Indianapolis Star by Jill Warren

Police 'Capture' Arena Crowd...

In the 1980 Rock Pile Rock Poll a song by "that new wave group" called the Police was an overwhelming choice by the voters for worst song of the year.

Last night some 12,000 rock 'n' roll fans in Market Square Arena stood and roared their approval for that very same song - "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da."

Welcome to Indianapolis, Police. You have conquered the land new-wavers fear to tread. Just ask Blondie. Dave Edmunds. Nick Lowe. Elvis Costello. Graham Parker. And those who never visited because of this city's love affair with high-energy rock.

Actually, the new wave label for the Police is a misnomer. The three- piece band of drummer Stewart Copeland, lead guitarist Andy Summers and bassist and lead vocalist Sting is closer to being a reggae-rock band than anything.

Or as Summers himself described it, "What we play is modern music. The sound of the group is a synthesis of many different elements that we've integrated into our own playing over the years."

The band has been popularly mislabelled new wave because of its simple, inexpensive approach to music, the same style ballyhooed by new wave and punk groups.

Because of the trio's back-to-basics studio methods, some of last night's curious viewers (this critic for one) may have gone to the concert with a prove-it-to-me attitude. It wasn't too long before those arms previously folded securely against the chest were freed to do a more natural thing such as clapping.

Sting, who alternated between a custom-designed, space-age stand-up bass and a sawed-off bass guitar, has a voice unmatched in rock - high, clean and smooth. He refrains from flash-rock, settling for moves that are natural. And although he twice muffed the pronunciation of Indianapolis, his occasional conversations with the audience were amusing.

After once spotting Indy's infamous and partially toothless concert-goer "Wild Bill" in the audience, Sting asked: "What happened to your teeth, sir?" He cleverly dedicated the next song, 'Demolition Man', to "Wild Bill" and then told him after the song was complete: "You should see a dentist."

Summers, who formerly toured with the Animals, likewise is a simplistic type, playing his guitar effortlessly while producing complex sounds. And this critic has heard no better miked-drum than that of Copeland's. The ominousness of his beat - especially his kick drum - was symbolized by his giant-like shadow on the west wall and ceiling of the arena, an unintentional effect created by backlighting.

Needless to say, the sound on Sting's lead vocals and all instrumentals was superb.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, who possibly had nearly as many fans in the crowd as the headliners, opened the show with a strong 40-minute set in which the energetic Miss Jett roared through a dozen songs, including her No. 1 single and the teen anthem of the day, "I Love Rock'n'Roll," and another popular cut from the same album, "Crimson and Clover."

The Jett set was so popular with the audience that several boos were expressed when she did not return for an encore.

Time and again, when the Police set could have sputtered, something happened to kick the crowd off its seat. As in almost all markets, bands have very little trouble playing their hits. The Police wisely sucked the audience into its power by opening with some of their biggest - 'Message in a Bottle', 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic', and 'Spirits in the Material World'. That was easy.

But between the plucky 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da', the eighth song of the 95-minute show, and 'Roxanne', the group's last song preceding two encore calls, there were a half dozen songs some old and some new, but all of which were "non-hits" that would either make or break the night. As it turned out, they made it.

First came 'Demolition Man' from the current million-selling 'Ghost in the Machine" LP, featuring outstanding instrumental displays by Sting on the stand-up bass and Summers on guitar. That was followed by the eerie and moving 'Shadows in the Rain' and 'Walking on the Moon', both enhanced by smoke and light techniques, including 24 banks of six-piece high-intensity stadium lamps which lit up MSA like a football stadium.

Then came 'Bring on the Night', highlighted by another impressive guitar break by Summers, reggae-rocker 'One World (Not Three)', featuring Sting soaring in echoing a capella, and 'Invisible Sun' with Sting, Summers and Copeland again standing out instrumentally. The show could have collapsed during any one of those tunes, but pure talent and an audience eager to be educated would not allow it.

(c) The Indianapolis News by Zach Dunkin