Synchronicity: 1983/84

Police exceptional in arena concert...

It's shows like the one the Police delivered in Market Square Arena Monday night that reaffirm one's faith. When people shake a saddened head and bemoan that Indianapolis is not a rock'n'roll town, we can point to the Police/Joan Jett concert as our shining moment.

A sell-out by MSA standards, the fans were in a state of joyful frenzy during the band's nearly two-hour set. They stood - even those with choice seats and sang along with hearty "e-yo-oh's!" whenever the mood struck. They even chimed in on new material from the recently released 'Synchronicity' LP.

The show itself. sponsored by MTV who, we assume, provided the three cameramen who expertly transmitted the show live to a huge screen hung above the stage was nothing short of superb. Lights often stayed in line with the group's new album design (stripes of red, yellow. blue), but now and then glowed with carnival colours that confirmed the mood the Police established with its strongly atmospheric music.

Unlike when Journey preened for the cameras during its recent concert here, the Police more or less ignored the roving eyes and just played. Joined at stage left by three singers, the band alternately roared, tingled and danced through a wonderful selection of material ranging from 'There's a Hole in My Life' and 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da' to 'Every Breath You Take' and the excellent 'Tea on the Sahara'.

The latter, as with a number of tunes from the new LP, carried the band's affection for African rhythms into a whole new category. They're no longer just a reggae/pop band, if they ever were: The Police has developed into an even more appealing band since the last time we saw them in MSA. The group easily ranks with Springsteen, the Who and a few other rockers of that stature, and yet it's certainly got the edge on aesthetic appeal. They're sort of the cultural apex of what most people classify as rock'n'roll; and led by the charismatic Sting, they're sort of an Ellington for the '80s.

The entire band was in extremely fine form (Andy Summer's guitar truly relayed wavy heat in 'Tea on the Sahara', and drummer Stewart Copeland added all kinds of intriguing percussion sounds), but it is Sting who steps most vibrantly into the spotlight.

Sting looked as if he'd been rescued from an elegant shipwreck and fighting discomfort from recent minor throat surgery, his voice sounded just as expressive and impressive as ever. The only signs one could register as being sympathetic to his recovering throat were frequent sips of water and the dropping of a verse from 'Don't Stand So Close to Me'. He was also considerate of those seated behind that stage, playing specially to them near the show's end, singing a one-word song called 'Indianapolis'.

Closing with a few older hits, the band left the stage but was called back by an ovation of nearly five minutes the crowd's cheering surely tested the building's strength the Police returned for an encore of 'So Lonely'.

(c) The Indianapolis Star by Jill Warren

The Police, Stevie Nicks, treat fans to great shows...

Rock fans got a double dose of "good vibrations" that ran the full spectrum of musical styles this week, thanks to Market Square Arena concerts by The Police and Stevie Nicks.

It's hard to imagine two more diverse concert styles: on one hand, there is the new-wave super group The Police; on the other, the queen of romantic rock, Fleetwood Mac star Nicks.

Yet both concerts succeeded in stylish fashion, exciting large crowds and sending them home with just one complaint: that the concerts had to end at all.

In Monday's concert, the crowd was young, intense and ready to party to the distinctive new wave-rock-jazz sound of one of the world's hottest rock bands, The Police, with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts providing the lead act. To many of those in attendance, the concert was an event more than an occasion to hear the music.

Wednesday, Nicks and a superb collection of musicians hit town with front act Joe Walsh (formerly of The James Gang and the Eagles), and dazzled an appreciative, older and more laid-back crowd with old-style rock and roll.

The Police opened up things Monday night at MSA before a raucous crowd of better than 16,000, with Jett providing a rocking 39-minute, 12-song set that was marred only by scattered boos. Jett opened with a solid rendition of 'Bad Reputation', hit her peak with her most popular hits, 'I Love Rock and Roll', and the current 'Everyday People', and also scored with two other lesser hits, 'Crimson and Clover' and 'Do You Want to Touch Me'.

Then came The Police, and from the opening licks of 'Synchronicity' to the final strains of 'So Lonely', the second of two encore songs, the crowd was absorbed in the dazzling musicianship of drummer Stewart Copeland, guitarist Andy Summers and most of all by lead singer Gordon "Sting" Sumner.

The Police showed an amazing energy level as they ripped through a 21-song repertoire, including nine of the 11 songs of their current number-one album 'Synchronicity'. They also brought back older favourites from three earlier albums, headed by five cuts from their 1981 platinum album 'Ghost in the Machine'.

Sting provided the bulk of the vocals, only occasionally encountering problems with some of the higher notes. That didn't short-circuit the intensity of his singing, as the band actually exceeded their studio performances on such songs as 'Tea in the Sahara', 'King of Pain' and 'Wrapped Around Your Finger'. Whatever vocal help Sting might have needed was provided by his 16,000-member choir, which sang along with virtually every song the band could play.

The highlight of the night, was 'Invisible Sun', perhaps the strongest cut from 'Ghost in the Machine'. Throughout the concert, the band utilized a giant screen that flashed live instacam pictures of band members playing and singing. But when 'Invisible Sun' was played, the screen switched to the video version of the song, heightening the message Sting tried to convey when he wrote the piece.

That was followed quickly by 'King of Pain' and then by the current top-selling single 'Every Breath You Take', the emotional peak of the concert.

(c) The Daily Journal by Ric Burrous