25,000 enthusiastic fans witness The Police in force...
More than 25,000 rock fans crowded into the Tacoma Dome for last night's concert by The Police - one of the most popular superstar bands of the '80s.
The crowd endured the usual parking hassles and traffic jams outside the dome, but found conditions inside the auditorium much more pleasant. Acoustics were excellent and performances were first rate.
The Fixx and the Thompson Twins, two British groups whose musical styles complement The Police , opened the concert with short, tight sets.
The Thompson Twins presented their jaunty hits 'Love On Your Side' and 'Lies' with heartfelt conviction and plenty of energy.
The Fixx, which recently appeared with A Flock Of Seagulls at the Paramount Theater, offered letter perfect versions of its greatest hits including 'Saved by Zero', 'One Thing Leads to Another' and 'Stand Or Fall'.
The Police finally took the stage at approximately 10pm and presented a colourful, elegant show.
Throughout the band's set the large overhead video screen displayed the trio's every move. A kaleidoscopic lighting illuminated the movements of lead vocalist Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland.
The Police effortlessly combine rock, reggae, funk and even some elements of classical music in a smooth sound that is not only easy and enjoyable to listen to but stimulating and intelligent.
Lyrics to the band's newest sounds are even more philosophical than those from previous albums. The words to 'O My God' read ''Everyone I know is lonely / and God's so far away / And my heart belongs to no one / So now sometimes I pray...''
The Police were quick to improvise on hit singles such as 'Message in a Bottle' and the latest songs 'Synchronicity' and 'Every Breath You Take' rather than take the familiar approach. There were exciting new arrangements for many of the group's hit songs.
Perhaps as a result of all that concentration on meticulous performance, the trio had little time for the usual rock star theatrics. There were few gimmicky embellishments to distract the crowd from the group's clean uncluttered pop sound.
(c) Seattle Post-Intelligencer by Gene Stout
Police give arresting end to summer vacation...
Beneath the wooden ribs and white sections of the Tacoma Dome, summer came to a sweet end last night as the British trio, the Police, played to a 29,000-strong capacity crowd of mostly teen-aged kids. When school starts next week, The sure test of coolness has to be whether you were there.
The Police's album Synchronicity, with its No.1 single and MTV smash, 'Every Breath You Take', deservedly has held the top slot on the music charts for the past eight weeks. Deliciously intricate music, a courteous crowd, engaging visuals, admirable acoustics - lyrics and instruments, except perhaps for the bass, were distinct - and the personable, folk-singer-like stage presence of lead singer Sting combined to make this an exceptionally satisfying evening.
What a marvellously warm, cunning and musical band this six-year-old trio from England is. Originally part of a British movement that combined the sparse instrumentation and political consciousness of reggae with crisp, New Wave abruptness, the Police has become one of the most versatile bands. The group strikes an appealing balance between pop lightness of heart and brooding study. It's tight, high vocal harmonies, for example, have that bouncy innocence we've been used to hearing ever since the Beatles and the Hollies crossed the Atlantic. Sting's solo vocals on tunes like 'Every Breath You Take' are pure Rod Stewart.
Yet balanced against that sometimes saccharine freshness are dark lyrics, Sting's steamy bass lines and the thoroughly contemporary, nervous ticking of Andy Summers' guitar.
It's amazing how many different sounds and beats these guys got last night from just three instruments. From the mysterious 'Message in a Bottle' through the floating vocal vamp of 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da' to the heavy rock of 'There's a Hole in My Life' and the elusive, William Blake-like ballad 'King of Pain', there was continuous musical interest.
After a brief ''intermission'' (cameras followed the trio into the dressing room, beaming the group's shenanigans onto the dome's large screen), they came back to do captivating versions of last year's 'Don't Stand So Close' this year's 'Every Breath You Take' and their first American single, 'Roxanne'.
The concert was opened by The Thompson Twins and The Fixx.
(c) The Seattle Times by Paul de Barros
The Police's synthesized sound packs a big punch...
The Police have just about everything going for them these days. They're young, they're popular, they're tastefully into electronics, they can rock like few of their competitors, they sell records, the media loves them, they've been around long enough to absorb a little polish, they're brashly lyrical, they can bandy about heavy themes right along with the lighter ones, they know their audience and they're in the forefront of change, bridging the gap between conventional rock and progressive pop with a synthesizer-edged sound that is both commercial genius and compelling entertainment.
In fact, the Police are just about perfect for the multitudes of hip, young fans who crave the new while still relishing the old and almost 30,000 of those teens and post-teens turned out on a gusty, rainswept night for the powerhouse trio's concert at the Tacoma Dome Thursday.
Tres chic!
They weren't disappointed.
Already a national sensation and coming on the heels of their hot new LP 'Synchronicity', the Police's current tour (of which the Tacoma date was the only local performance) is shaping up as the rock event of the year. The group is on the brink of superstardom and, disregarding the peculiarly elusive nature of such things, that's beginning to look more and more like a foregone conclusion.
Sting, the group's flamboyant bassist and singer, paced the band through a two-hour set at the Dome that opened with a series of numbers from 'Synchronicity'. including, not surprisingly, 'Synchronicity' and 'Walking in Your Footsteps' and featured a state-of-the-art exhibition of lighting, staging and charismatic charm.
What it all lacked in dynamic impact, it made up for with style. There's nothing about the Police's songs that drive home any complex messages. Even though most of the tunes address such sobering cosmic concerns as universal dehumanization and the imminent extinction of us all, they're strangely (and perhaps intentionally) hollow at the core. It's their dramatic musical sweep, an almost operatic intensity generated largely by the synthetically enhanced guitar work of Andy Summers, that carries them and that's their appeal. Sting may have been envisioning the fossilized future, but the enormous arena floor was alive with enraptured dancers nevertheless.
The three-act show opened with an ambitious but perfunctory appearance by the Thompson Twins, a solid contemporary synth-band that never managed to achieve any real momentum. The set passed somewhat monotonously as the late-arriving crowd continued to file inside.
Next came the Fixx, a slightly more traditional group that turned in the most explosive performance of the evening. With its energetic presence and grinding instrumentation, the Fixx made the Thompson Twins sound ordinary by comparison.
But it was the Police's night and they quickly overshadowed any remnants of the Fixx's work. In all, the Police performed more than a dozen-and-a-half numbers, leaving the stage more than two-thirds of the way through after announcing they were going to take a tea break. They raced backstage, followed by a TV cameraman, and the huge closed-circuit screen above the crowd showed the three of them Sting, Summers and drummer Stuart Copeland partaking of... tea, of course.
In a matter of moments, they returned to their instruments and finished the show with their current hit single, 'Every Breath You Take', plus their first smash from several years ago, 'Roxanne'.
The tea-break episode only served to emphasize the group's impressive grasp of hip proto- col. Video business of that kind is practically a requisite for big pop shows nowadays - a natural extension of the audience's affection for the all-music cable-TV channel MTV, tapes from which were played between acts at the Dome.
Thus, the whole extravaganza fulfilled virtually every requirement of current pop.
It was lively, responsive and undeniably fresh. Although the Police themselves stuck mainly to the music from their new album, they were the epitome of the up-and-coming band. They exuded a sublime confidence and their mastery of their own expanding musical repertoire, combined with such vivid details as a pair of backup singers dressed in Bedouin-like outfits, was enough to illuminate the obvious - that is, that the Police, along with a ripe new era of expression, have definitely arrived.
(c) The Daily Herald by Jim Kelton
Police's lyrics, rhythm arresting to frisky crowd...
Three men from England conquered more than 20,000 hearts and minds here Thursday while scoring a blow for intelligent lyrics and complicated rhythms.
The Police whom Time magazine has named the hottest rock group in the world - took the Tacoma Dome crowd like a dog takes a rag doll and shakes it for fun.
Before the nearly two-hour set was over, the crowd had been on its feet at least a dozen times, cheering, singing, and learning to appreciate the dry humour of Sting, the lead singer and songwriter. He began with the title song from the group's newest album, 'Synchronicity'.
Carried on an quick uneven rhythm that reveals this band's long reggae leanings, the song is a poem on the theme of interconnectedness.
"A connecting principle, Linked to the invisible, Almost imperceptible, Something inexpressible..." For the entire first half of his set, Sting stuck to his repertoire of abstract songs. Songs about emotional distance, about politics, about loneliness, pain, and the nature of the soul. Amazingly, the band attacks these subjects without bogging down in pretension or histrionics.
A 22-year-old Seattle fan said that what she liked most about the group was "the way they can sing about depressing things and not be depressed."
Apparently, she is not alone. Estimates are that 3.5 million copies of 'Synchronicity' have been sold.
Besides the cerebral appeal of Sting, whose real name is Gordon Mathew Sumner, the Seattle fan also said, "He's gorgeous."
Blonde, with a gaunt face, he slid his voice up and down the range for Tacoma fans. During high wails, one could hear the fatigue of the tour crack it a little. Two female back-up singers proved a wise temporary addition to the trio. They carried the sustained portions of choruses after Sting faded out.
Guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland proved they can be precise and creative outside the safe con- fines of a recording studio. None of the songs sounded exactly as they do on albums, but there was nothing sloppy in the playing.
They conjured a primitive sound with throaty piping to set the mood for 'Walking in Your Footsteps', a musing on the likelihood that humans could someday wind up as plentiful as dinosaurs.
"Hey mighty brontosaurus don't you have a lesson for us?
You thought your rule would always last
There were no lessons in your past.
You were built three stories high.
They say you would not hurt a fly.
If we explode the atom bomb, Would they say that we were dumb?"
Older songs, from the band's earlier albums, were scattered in with the latest material.
'Message in a Bottle', and 'Walking on the Moon', found their way into the first half of the set. Many in the audience were clearly partial to the tougher rock of these earlier songs.
Regardless of the song, however, one element of the Police style remains constant: they play with dynamics. Within one song, they find quiet moments and raucous moments, and deft transitions between the two. There is no monotony.
Without a crowd of technicians on stage, the trio managed to get a rich texture in the music, adding just a touch of a new sound now and then to liven up guitars and drums.
Although the giant emptiness of the dome was not the ideal place to play with subtlety, the band did remarkably well. Taco- ma can be proud that its dome's acoustics are many times better than those of the Seattle Kingdome.
On his way to the climax of the first half of the set, Sting brought out one of the band's older songs.
As the entire crowd sang the chorus, "One world is enough for all of us," it brought a flashback to the days of protest anthems and young people whose music was their politics.
But the biggest blow-out before the band's tea time was 'King of Pain', which is suddenly hogging the airplay on radio stations.
Guitarist Copeland took a long solo that wept and moaned. The song lyrics list a series of tortures and compare them to one man's inner turmoil.
During the second half, love and sex were the main themes. Crowd favourites were 'Every Breath You Take', about a lover's goodbye promise to keep track of his love, and 'Roxanne', about a lover pleading with his girlfriend to stop selling herself.
"Roxanne, you don't have to put on the red light,..." Sting cried, and then giant lights suddenly illuminated the roaring crowd on the dome floor. It was a gimmick, but one that worked.
The dancing melee cheered the sight of itself, and gathered new strength for demanding an encore after this tune was done.
Above the stage was a video screen that Music Television, MTV, the sponsors of the tour, kept filled with live close-ups of the performance.
Although it could have been distracting, the screen was plainly practical. It gave concertgoers without binoculars a chance to see the expression on the faces of the players.
Those expressions ought to be good all the way to the bank. The Police will take the rest of America by storm.
(c) The Columbian by Sally James
Police fill Dome with reggae-flavoured rock...
A reggae-influenced rock trio with a charismatic lead singer named Sting will be recorded in local history as highlighting the first show to sell out the Tacoma Dome.
More people attended the New Wave and reggae-dominated concert last night featuring the Police, Thompson Twins and The Fixx, than the biggest day of the Billy Graham Crusade.
By 5pm, the large outdoor readerboard announced the concert had sold out. About an hour later the Dome's parking lots were full, said Dome director Mike Gebauer.
It would be difficult to imagine an entertainer who possesses a more dominating personality than Sting, the bass-player/lead singer who got his name from the black- and-yellow striped shirts he used to prefer, giving him a bee's appearance.
Last night he wore knee-high black boots, loose-fitting red pants and a long peasant blouse. Occasionally he danced about the stage, but most often stood before his microphone in front and sang with a rare dynamic presence.
The Police came on stage at 10 and finished their encore at 11:40. During that period Sting wailed out song after memorable song, mostly written by him, and proved why he's an important creative force in popular music.
The songlist included 'Synchronicity', 'Wrapped Around Your Finger', 'My Life's Got a Hole in It', 'King of Pain', 'Murder by Numbers', 'Don't Stand So Close to Me' and 'Roxanne.'
The last scrap of doubt concerning the Dome's acoustics was laid to rest during 'Every Breath That You Take', a song using a mini- mum of instrumentation. You could hear every delicious word.
Sting was ably backed by his long-time drummer, Stewart Copeland, and guitarist Andy Summers. There was also a pair of backup female vocalists dressed in flowing dark nun's habits.
For most of the first half of the show the Police played reggae-influenced music which was not only interesting and refreshing but may portend the future of rock bands. Sting is the first prominent white singer to successfully tailor his music around the Jamaican sound, much like Elvis Presley was the first white singer to launch a career on black rhythm and blues.
The Police whose most recent album 'Synchronicity' has held the lead on national album charts for several weeks - made their only Northwest appearance in the Dome to the delight of more than 30,000 young rock fans.
A huge semi-circle of speakers was suspended from the ceiling above the stage by a complicated system of cables and pulleys, providing a loud and dominating system overwhelming any hint of the Dome's tight echo.
Opening the show was the Thompson Twins, a group featuring several keyboardists who worked with synthesizers and computers, producing a jubilantly festive reggae sound.
The group's music also is accentuated by a variety of percussion sounds. During the Thompson Twins' act, the musicians constantly banged sticks against microphone stands, vibraphones and other items on stage.
One audience member described it as 'electro pop dance music,' and it certainly had the crowd stepping and swinging on the main floor.
In between groups, the large screen above the stage showed MTV videos of popular bands. However, with the house lights on the screen was not easily visible.
Also preceding each act a concert official with a British accent adamantly told the crowd concentrated near the stage, 'Take two steps back. People are getting hurt.'
The second act was MCA recording group The Fixx, whose newest album is 'Reach the Beach'. The Fixx's sound is distinguished by the twangy high-pitched guitar of Jamie West-Oran and strong lead vocals of Cy Curnin.
Their overall sound was New Wavish with a prominent rock beat. The strongest reaction to the band's material was for 'One Thing Leads to Another.'
An indication of the Dome's out-of-county popularity was dramatised when Sting announced, "I'm a bit confused. They told me I would be playing in Seattle. How many people here are from Seattle?"
And it seemed most of the concertgoers on the main floor raised their arms and roared.
(c) The News Tribune by Dorian Smith
Stand-alone music hallmark of Police...
The Police is surely a band for the '80s. Since the band's formation in 1977, its blond good looks, interesting live concerts, accessible songs and the rising stage persona of lead singer/bassist Sting have made the group hugely successful.
The band seems to appeal equally to young women as well as men, interesting because many bands popular with young teen-agers are weighted heavily toward females or macho males.
The Police satisfy both camps with good looks and good music and actually should be of interest to more adult listeners looking for musical substance more than pop idolatry. It's not a gee whiz band loaded down with egomania nor one with a penchant for mono-syllabic nonsense or cute lyrics. If anything, the lyrical approach can tip the scale to overkill.
The trio performed in the Tacoma Dome here Thursday for a sold-out audience of some 30,000, another festival-seated crowd that stood for most of the evening in a vast, undulating sea of humanity on the arena floor.
The Police concert is another "event" that lures people out to take part by just being there. But the band comes through with original music and dramatic lighting. The lighting serves its purpose of enhancing a good show without becoming an event all its own, as some light shows have become for music that couldn't stand on its own merits.
The Police started six years ago as a pop reggae band, but that style has gradually been pared away as the band has progressed and evolved. Thursday's 105- minute show was a neatly paced, well conceived program of Police music.
Sting is the vocal spokesman, a tall man with a penchant for stage movement. He didn't seem as animated a he did last year in Portland's Memorial Coliseum, but Thursday he still moved around fluidly, keeping his ad lib choreography within the multi-coloured lights that swept the stage. Guitarist Andy Summers kept on the move, jumping more than prowling, and drummer Stewart Copeland stayed behind his huge drum kit, getting up only to move back to his huge percussion setup.
The band entered the large stage area amid fog that passed through blue, yellow and red overhead spotlights, giving an eerie effect and reproducing the colour scheme on the band's last album.
Opening with several uptempo-styled rockers,
Sting started with 'Synchronicity' and later sang 'Walking In Your Footsteps', which started with him playing a South American wooden, multitoned flute-like instrument. The warm, hollow tone joined with Copeland's percussion sounds, and all of it came off much like a production with rotating coloured lights in the colour scheme changing in rhythm.
'Message in a Bottle' was followed by a jazz-influenced number featuring Sting on a compact, standup bass. The simply done arrangement behind Sting's smoky voice was just right.
'Wrapped Around Her Fingers' was more than a love song, with some Latin percussion leading to strong drumming and good vocal harmonies from Sting and the two backup singers attired in head-to-toe black capelike dresses that resembled Middle Eastern dress.
Living In the Material World was light reggae, and following that was 'There's a Hole in My Life'. The tune included a brief chorus of 'Hit the Road Jack', an old jazz/jump tune.
Other highlights were 'Little Bird', 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' and 'Murder By the Numbers (1-2-3, As Easy As A-B-C)', a totally enjoyable and witty piece.
Then came the two biggest hits of the band's career. 'Every Breath You Take', its present chart-topper, a haunting, smooth work that rolls along sensuously, was first. Then 'Roxanne', a pop reggae piece with pushy rhythm that ended the regular show as high-powered flood lights covered the crowd.
The band encored with 'I Can't Stand Losing You', lightly flavoured reggae that moved into power pop, included fog, lights and a big, production number climax.
Sting talked to the audience occasionally, if briefly, and urged it to sing along from time to time. He and the others left after an hour for a "tea break" that instead of being an intermission became a little rock folly. The video camera followed the band into the dressing room, where tea and cake were waiting, and each member donned a funny gat while Sting removed his shirt all of this caught on the large screen in front of the arena.
The Police can be a bare-bones band with nothing but the instruments each plays making the music, not a bank of synthesizers or backup band. The band held to that tenet dearly, even though it did opt for the two backup singers for harmonies. The band makes interesting music that's commercially as well as artistically appealing.
The Thompson Twins and the Fixx opened the 42-hour show.
(c) The Oregonian by John Wendeborn
The Police at the Tacoma Dome...
In the summer of 1983, I camped out with a friend, so we could be ''first'' into the Tacoma, Washington, Synchronicity concert. The Police had toured through Seattle twice before, but I was too young to see them. They first played at the Showbox, a small club in Seattle's red light district, and several years later played the Paramount, an old downtown Seattle theater. We intended to be front and center for the Tacoma Dome show, so we ''slept'' on the pavement in our mountain tent next to loud drunk fans.
After an memorably awful night, a girl for whom we had saved a place in line, was sweet enough to bring morning coffee. To an 18 year old she seemed like an angel (after all, I was only 18!) The passes were handed out by noon, and we cleaned up in her motel room. By dinnertime, the first 100 fans we were let into the show.
The bouncers sat us down on the floor of the Tacoma Dome, but we all made a dash for the wooden barrier in front of the stage long before the show started. We remained, front and center, at the barrier, with 20,000 Police fans trying to get to the spot where we were hanging on for dear life. Exhausted fans were passed up over the crowd to the barrier to the bouncers. Most were dropped directly on our heads. I distictly remember Sting, several feet away shouting at the roadies.
Well, we lasted halfway through the show, before escaping over the barrier and retreating to empty seats in the back of the stadium. Sting eventually brought out his acoustic bass for a song or two. Eventually the band took a tea break. It was projected on the big screen. I suppose this was the beginning of the end for the band, though we had no idea at the time.
(c) ''mcclurer16''
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