Police provide potent musical attack...
The Police cruised into the Paramount Theater Wednesday night and assaulted a crowd of almost 3,000 patrons with a potent musical attack. The Police in this cast was not Portland's finest, but a trio of blond English musicians.
Last February the group was scheduled to perform at the Paramount, but the show was cancelled at the last minute when the lead vocalist, Sting, came down with a cold.
This time around, Sting's rugged voice came across strong.
The concert also marked the Portland debut of the evening's opening act, XTC, another British band. Both groups are among the most successful graduates of England's 1976-1977 New Wave movement.
The evening's headliners, The Police, played a fusion of rock and reggae. They used basic reggae rhythm and added some clean rock guitar and clear audible vocals. The approach to reggae may not be authentic but does manage to capture its contagious beat.
The trio arrived on the dark stage while a reggae tape was played over the sound system. As soon as the tape ended, the stage lights flashed on and the show began. Most in the crowd on the main floor were on their feet for the next hour, swaying and dancing to the band's infectious rhythms.
As is usually the case for a New Wave show, the audience was a bit older and more diverse than at a regular rock concert. There were plenty of badges, sunglasses, some 'mod' clothes and even a few brightly-coloured heads of hair.
The Police were not dressed as loudly as many members of the audience. Only Sting's green shorts and yellow-and-white shirt seemed usual because of the temperature outside.
Sting, in addition to handling all lead vocals, also was the group's bassist. Both Sting and guitarist Andy Summers played a bit of synthesizer during the show. Stewart Copeland rounded out the trio on drums.
The Police performed 12 songs during an hour-long set, taking selections from each of their three albums, 'Outlandos d'Amour', 'Reggatta de Blanc', and the just-released 'Zenyatta Mondatta'. The most popular tunes were 'Walking on the Moon', 'Bed's Too Big Without You', 'Message in a Bottle' and 'Roxanne.'
The audience drew the band out for two encores. 'Can't Stand Losing You' was the first and 'Next to You' was the second and final encore.
(c) The Columbian by Fred Seegmuller
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