Zenyatta Mondatta: 1980/81

The right to remain silent...

After suffering through almost half of the stirring presidential debate on October 28 (who could have believed that Barbara Walters would come out looking like the most reasonable and intelligent person there, hands down?), it was a blessed relief to rush to the paramount for the long-awaited Police-XTC line-up. When the usual hassles getting in with a tape recorder (for the post-game interview) were temporarily played out, I struggled to rest in the balcony, to there be obliterated by XTC's fantastic set of jumpy, and miraculously catchy, pop. The well-rounded selection included songs from each of the group's four LPs with special highlights being 'Battery Brides', 'This Is Pop', 'Reel By Reel', and especially the songs from the new 'Black Sea' album. The new stuff seemed more rock'n'roll, maybe even more normal (though) "normalcy" in XTC's music is always deceptive) than their first three LPs, and I for one was made extremely happy by the music.

Following a fairly lengthy break (and the transfer of my tape recorder to a maximum security office cell), the Police, making their second Seattle appearance of 1980 (as was XTC), opened with 'Don't Stand So Close To Me' from the new 'Zenyatta Mondatta' album. Lead vocalist Sting played a space-age acoustic bass (custom made by a Dutchman, who brought it to the band's attention during recording in Holland), the sound of which positively filled the hall. Stewart Copeland's furiously controlled drumming (somehow described as inadequate in Pete Hansens unbelievably absurd review in the P-I) and Andy Summers' highly individual guitar style (which Hansen termed "almost heavy metal"!) provided the music with a powerful and sometimes eerie edge, and Sting's bizarre voice naturally added the final twist to the unmistakably original Police sound. The show gathered momentum through a raucous 'Fall Out', the Summers showcase 'Shadows In the Rain' and an extended 'Bed's Too Big Without You'. When the crowd reacted to 'Message in A Bottle' by dancing up to the stage, the Paramount militia took over. Sting and Summers both reasoned with the bouncers, and the somewhat compromised dancing continued through 'Roxanne' and encores or 'Can't Stand Losing You' and 'Next to You', introduced by Andy Summers cartwheeling onto the stage.

After the show, a tired but willing Summers commented: "I thought it was a great concert; | think we played very well - the only thing that marred it for me was having that space in the front. All the people want to do is dance and have a good time - they don't want to get up and try to kill the band. It's like us versus the men who are supposed to be protecting us - it's ridiculous."

The Police have been on the road most of the year, with a tour of the East, Africa, the U.S. twice, and a summer tour of Spain and France. About road life in general, and writing specifically, Andy says: "We all think we're going to write songs on the road, but it's self-deception. We come armed with pencils and blank note pads and just end up playing and travelling and meeting people. I find it hard to concentrate. After a gig you like to unwind...there's always a party, always something, go out, go to the bar, drink I don't want to incriminate myself; you can use your imagination..."

And the future of these three wildly successful new wavers? A live album is in the works, as well as continued work outside the group for each member. Sting "has been offered millions of films," Stewart Copeland always has his Klark Kent recording alter ego, and Summers has "a couple of projects in mind recording with other people next year." He has also been offered a role in a French film, and says, "I'd love to do it. It all depends on the band's schedule. We've been so successful and it puts us in a very good position. We don't want to go on only being the band, year in year out, tour-record-tour; that becomes really redundant. We have to stop being the band for a bit because we're not just an ordinary band; we've had almost Beatle-like success around the world so our situation is a very intense one. We've gone so high in such a short time that it's necessary to withdraw from the public's eye for a while to re-energize."

Of course, withdrawing from the public eye is not always that simple, as evidenced by the fact that practically all of the Police's stay in Seattle was filmed for local T.V. Here's to the movies - the Police are going to have plenty of practice.

(c) Rocket magazine by Scott McCaughey

Police give arresting performance here...

Debate? What debate? While everybody else watching the candidates, 3,000 assorted rock fans took advantage of the empty streets and zipped down to the Paramount.There they heard a lively political message from The Police: ''When the world is running down, you make the best of what's still around.''

Those were the lyrics from one of the band's songs - in fact, it's the title. The British trio practised what it preached, making all of us forget our troubles for a while and dance.

But the dancing didn't start in earnest until Sting, lead singer-bassist, stopped the show in the middle of 'Message In A Bottle' and dressed down the security people for being too rough on persons dancing in the aisles.

''The only people causing trouble are the bouncers,'' he said, pointing to a scuffle near the stage. ''You have been violent. Cool it down''.

That moment turned the crowd around. From then on, the audience was totally with the band. There was dancing everywhere. The crowd started singing along without being coaxed.

After the first encore, the audience did something I don't remember happening before. A chant started in the back of the main floor and spread through the crowd. Then another chant in response developed on the other side, and in the balcony. The band bounced on stage for the second encore, turned on the chants and clapping, and did an electrifying version of 'Next To You'.

The show was tighter, more theatrical than the Police show last February at the Showbox. Last night Sting played a weird electric stand-up bass on some songs. The instrument looked like the next and strings of a slap bass, with the rest of the parts missing. It produced a deep, resonant sound, much stronger than that to the guitar bass.

Once more the reggae and ska-influenced rhythms of Sting and of Stewart Copeland on drums helped make the songs sparkle. Copeland's staccato backbeat on 'Man In A Suitcase' and Sting's thumping bass on 'Bring On The Night' highlighted the strong rhythm line of the Police.

Andy Summers' layered guitar sound was more pronounced than on recordings. Picking with several fingers and using a variety of effects, he produced a rich, seamless succession of notes that seemed to envelop the songs.

XTC, another British band opened the show with a long set of original tunes that struck a fine balance between New Wave and pop, Tunes such as 'Making Plans for Nigel', 'Towers of London' and 'Living Through Another Cuba' made the best of the band's blend of fine guitar-playing, strong lead vocals and slightly cynical political songs.

The show was the first for Modern Productions outside the Showbox. The $30,000 gross will pay a lot of bills for Modern, which has stuck its neck out by bringing unknown New Wave punk and pop bands to worn, often at a loss.

(c) The Seattle Times by Patrick MacDonald

The Police weren't fuzzy - It had a slow start, but a fast finish...

The Police concert at the Paramount Tuesday night was split down the middle, and the break came in the middle of a song. During 'Message In a Bottle', Sting, the English group's lead singer and bassist, told the ushers to "cool it down" in their treatment of people dancing in the aisles. From that point on, the concert rose to a more joyful and exciting level.

Up to that point, the concert had been relatively flat. Even The Police's new hit single, 'De Do Do Do. De Da Da Da', was tame in comparison to the recorded version.

Sting (nee Gordon Sumner) used to be a scat singer in a jazz group Many of the lyrics he sings are like those in the title of the band's current hit. Others are arranged in a broken syntax that works well with the staccato rhythms The Police have borrowed from reggae.

Aside from the absence of a dance floor, one of the contrasts to The Police's last concert here at The Showbox was that Sting used a strange, stick-like upright bass for many songs. The instrument produced richer, more resonant notes than his bass guitar and added an air of jazz-rock fusion to some of the songs. From this viewpoint, that was not a positive effect.

Several times guitarist Andy Summers saved songs from becoming overly subtle with his superbly direct bursts of rocking guitar. Drummer Stewart Copeland handles The Police's complex and shifting rhythm patterns as few others could He allows Sting and Summers to range into far musical fields. Together, the trio puts out more music than many four and five-piece bands.

The Police has a new album out called 'Zenyatta Mondatta'. It has jumped into the Top 30 and is the fastest selling of their three albums.

Like The Police, the opening act had a successful concert at The Showbox in their last visit here XTC is also from England It is not as singular a group as The Police in that it is firmly planted somewhere between new wave and pop, but it is an excellent band.

In Tuesday's long opening set, XTC displayed a re-worked version of one of its most successful songs, 'Making Plans for Nigel'. It probably wasn't as effective as the recorded version, but it's refreshing to run into a band that will even take chances with its "A" material.

(c) The Daily Herald by Rick Nelson