Police carry rock'n'roll torch with style...
Musicologists have been itching to close the books on rock'n'roll for a long time, but they cannot. A principal point of their frustration lately is the Police, the three-piece outfit that out-howled the driving winds Saturday night at the Meadows.
From the opening bars of 'Synchronicity' to their closing numbers, 'Yellow Rose of Texas' and 'I Can't Stand Losing You', the Police made a convincing case for those who would proclaim them the best band in the world today.
They know that. They are used to it. The band never looked more self-assured or relaxed than on Saturday, augmented by a vocal trio and a brief assist on guitar to buttress the lushness of their trademark sound. The Police handle their acclaim without denial or by playing down who they are, but by delivering exactly what is expected of them, and they were superb.
It is rare that a band with so much to say can be so entertaining while saying it. Much of the Police charisma is embodied in their bassist, composer and vocalist Sting, who led the 31,000 fans through so many sing-alongs that often, he appeared as enraptured as the audience. And not since the last great hurrahs of rock of the late '60s have so many in the crowd known all the words to nearly every song, and where the Police are concerned, that is a mouthful.
Onstage, Sting heads these pop horsemen of the apocalypse, winding through lyrics describing social injustice, sexual paranoia and loneliness.
Most of the tunes the band played were from 'Synchronicity', including the single 'Synchronicity II', and its intended follow-up 'Wrapped Around Your Finger'. They also pulled a few from their last five LPs, among them 'Message in a Bottle', 'Roxanne' and 'Walking on the Moon'.
A concert of these proportions under similar weather conditions would have spelled disaster a few years ago, but the sound system never let the Police down. Blasts of wind were never audible through their mikes, and each performer came through as clearly as if indoors under ideal acoustic conditions. Stewart Copeland, the most ostentatiously proficient drummer in rock, was slick and controlled, and Andy Summers' synthesized guitar weaved stark patterns around Sting's reggae bass patterns.
The show was opened by Joe "King" Carrasco, who, with weather and an early crowd against him, managed to get up a good head of steam in a short set, and UB40, an accessible troupe of Britons whose horn section added some bright spots to their show, including a rendition of 'The Peter Gunn Theme', and their single, a cover of Neil Diamond's 'Red, Red Wine'.
(c) The Austin American-Statesman by Kevin Phinney
You must have a display name to comment.
Follow the button below to create your display name.
CREATE A DISPLAY NAME