Synchronicity: 1983/84

These police have no public relations problems...

It was John Lewis, the Albuquerque pianist and founder of the Modern Jazz Quartet, who called rock music "the seduction of the young."

He should have been at the Police's concert last week at McNichols Arena. There, in what might best be described as mass infatuation, 17,000 Police fans were seduced in sight and sound for the better part of two hours by the crown princes of rock music.

Every little thing they did was magic, without even singing the song. Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland wrapped a sell-out crowd around their fingers and sent them into a regular frenzy with every breath they took.

If this were the early '60s, I would have sworn we were part of the Beatles' first North American tour. But this is 1983, and the Police play circles around what Lennon, McCartney and company ever achieved in concert.

The Police's concert was the fastest sell-out in the history of McNichols Arena, says a spokesman for Feyline, the show's promoter. Seventeen thousand tickets exchanged hands in the time it takes the Denver Nuggets to score its game-average 124 points.

Unlike the Boston Garden. McNichols Arena isn't draped in basketball achievement. Banners proclaiming Feyline "Concert Promoter of the Year" compete with the American flag for space beneath the rafters.

It may be only rock'n'roll to you, but it's a veritable culture club to the folks who make a ritual of arena shows.

The crowd that braved an 18-degree evening to hear the Police were young, rosy-cheeked and blond-very blond. Sting impostors, one wearing a horizontal striped sleeveless shirt and the singer's haircut, were everywhere. Young lovers who spent summer nights falling in love listening to 'Every Breath You Take' held each other close through the entire concert. 

There were banners demanding MTV and banners that would have made even Sting blush. Baskets of long-stemmed roses were selling in the aisles; concert tour books went for $6 at concession counters.

A symphony of squeals greeted local deejay Alan Hunter when he announced that bassist Summers would be signing copies of his photography book, "Throb." And when the house lights went out and the first clouds of smoke rose up from the stage, the squeals turned to a deafening roar.

There they were: Sting, his blond hair seemingly on fire from the spotlights, wearing black parachute pants and a kind of tribal smock that made him look half-Aborigine and half-harlequin; Summers, in baggy white pants, red designer jacket and soft orange tennis shoes; and drummer Copeland, wearing only a white T-shirt, white shorts and white running shoes, set to pound reggae rhythms into his Paiste cymbals and dazzling drum set.

The stage was bathed in primary reds, yellows and blues, the colour code on the band's latest album, 'Synchronicity'. Three backup singers dressed in Everlast "Choice of Champions" exercise suits were ready to go all two hours and 15 rounds.

If you went by songs, it added up to more than 15 rounds. The band opened with a medley of 'Synchronicity I' and 'Synchronicity II' from its latest album, and it wasn't long before Sting was at the foot of the stage. His high cheekbones and boyish expressions were the first lures. And when he looked directly into the audience, smiled with his laughing eyes and shook his blond mane slightly, the whole arena seemed to sigh.

On 'Walking in Your Footsteps', the vein in his neck nearly burst when he reached an octave higher in the second chorus. On 'King of Pain', 17,000 fans sang the full refrain with him.

Musically, the show was leagues above a stadium concert. If you were close to the stage, it also was loud, and much of the nuance and atmosphere found on the band's albums was lost in a heavy percussion mix. When Sting sang the phrase "kick in the crotch" on 'Synchronicity II', the punch of Copeland's bass drum hit the very place.

But, then, that's rock 'n' roll. If it doesn't hit you in the gut, it's not the real thing.

The Police's concert was the real thing: 17,000 loyalists never sat down through the entire show. Sting romanced us with 'Roxanne', charmed us with 'Spirits in the Material World' from 'Ghost in the Machine', served us 'Tea in the Sahara' and led us to the 'Invisible Sun'.

Two days after "The Day After," which Sting mentioned during the show, Police fans walked through the snow to their cars singing, "One world is enough for all of us."

(c) The Albuquerque Journal by Keith Raether