Synchronicity: 1983/84

Police show why they're great...

Orwell was right. It's 1984 and, last night at Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati became a Police state.

The band's hypnotic blend of third- world rhythms and vocalist Sting's great, white wail filled the arena for an hour and 35 minutes of some of the best rock 'n' roll Cincinnati has heard for a long time.

Just how good the Police are was brought into focus by Re-Flex, the British quartet that opened the 8pm show.

Re-Flex combined all the cliches of '80s, electronic, dance music-monotonous drum machines, meaningless synthesizer riffs, effete attempts at funk and insipid, mechanical vocals - into a dull 40-minute set.

Following the 35-minute intermission, it was finally time for the Police. Rarely has so much suspense been built up around a concert-first with the question of whether the Police would come to town at all, then as to when they'd come and finally, to WEBN's precedent-setting buy-out of all the tickets.

When Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland finally arrived on stage, the more than 16,000 in attendance were more than ready. From the first notes of 'Synchronicity', the stage was bathed in red, yellow and blue lights and the crowd was on its feet, singing and dancing along.

The trio was augmented with three backup singers and, at one point, a roadie took over the bass while Sting played synthesizer. It's this sparse instrumentation that helps give the Police its unique sound.

But more importantly, no one in the group plays or sings like anyone else in rock 'n' roll. Sting's powerful voice is one of the most expressive in rock, dramatic, yet restrained. His bass playing reflects his early jazz training, rhythmically vibrant but spare. Sting always leaves interesting holes in the music.

And, in an age when every guitarist is an Eddie Van Halen clone, Andy Summers. is his own man. From his off-beat, reggae-style rhythm guitar on 'One World' to his densely arpeggiated playing on "Every Breath You Take," Summers knew exactly what to play and, more importantly, what not to.

Copeland's drumming was just as imaginative, quirkily propelling the music- along while adding to the third-world feeling.

The Police are rhythmic anthropologists, using primitive African and Caribbean rhythms and Sting's chanting to weave a trance-like spell, but the band's lyrics are firmly entrenched in Western culture. A band that names its albums after books by Jung and Arthur Koestler, isn't made up of head-banging rock 'n' rollers.

But don't think the Police are intellectual snobs. They also played one of their early hits, 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da'.

By the time they encored with 'I Can't Stand Losing You', the Police had played music from all five of their LPs, from the song that started it all, 'Roxanne', to 'Wrapped Around Your Finger', the band's most recent hit.

What's amazing is that in a music scene where mediocrity is the only common denominator, a band as good as the Police is as popular as it deserves to be. Maybe there is some justice in rock 'n' roll after all.

(c) The Cincinnati Post by Larry Nager

Police: 'Synchronicity' In Action...

The Police must work with mirrors. There's no other way a three-man band can make so much music.

Tuesday night at Riverfront Coliseum the trio of Sting (a.k.a. Gordon Sumner ), Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland had some outside help they welcomed, but didn't need. On stage were three backup singers and Copeland's drum machine. In the stands and on the floor were 16,336 screaming, singing, standing fans. Sting invited, urged and at times ordered the sell-out crowd to sing along.

On stage, the backup singers required no invitation. Their job was to echo Sting's vocals. As for the drum machine, it let Copeland's hands pursue some extracurricular percussion pyrotechnics.

This cast of thousands did a good job. But the Police could have made just as much music on their own.

With Sting on bass, Stewart Copeland on drums and Andy Summers on guitar, the group is a self-contained unit. The trio can generate great subtleties as well as blitzkriegs of sound. The latter erupted on the concert's opening number, 'Synchronicity I'.
 
Apparently the Police do not believe in warming up. They start hot and go from there.

From 'Synchronicity I', the Police went into 16 uninterrupted minutes of music. 'Walking In Your Footsteps', the night's third tune, included, as always, an all-too-brief guitar solo by Summers. For an Englishman raised on the blues, Summers is an atypical rock guitarist. He doesn't play blues licks. He plays colours. Heavily influenced by King Crimson's Robert Fripp, Summers painted instrumental pictures behind Sting's vocals. Some scenes had metallic overtones. Others pierced the vocalist's foggy tones and the dry-ice fog floating from behind Copeland's drums.

It is often said that Copeland and Summers take backseats to Sting. The popular wisdom is that they just have supporting parts to his starring role.

That's not true. Yes, Sting does write the band's hits. Yes, he sings lead with a commanding presence. He knows how to in- spire musicians and fans. Yes, his inventive bass playing is essential to the band's sound. Yet, in the Police, he is just one of three. Without Copeland mixing the power of hard rock and the finesse of art rock with good old American ingenuity, the Police would not be the band that makes radio stations such as WEBN-FM buy every ticket in big arenas to insure that the band comes to town.

All of this relates to the band's less-is-more philosophy. When Copeland founded the group in 1977, he wanted to run the Police on as lean a mixture as possible and still produce rich music. He got his way thanks to the meshing of three unique and diverse talents, a fine example of synchronicity in action.

Opening the show was Re-Flex, a quartet specializing in cloning the greatest licks of David Bowie. Listening to the group's 39-minute set made one realize what a rich language English is. Just think of all the ways you can say, "get the hook."

(c) The Cincinnati Enquirer by Cliff Radel