Day On The Green #3 - September 10, 1983

Spirits In The Material World

Writing the last post made me think back to one of my favorite concert memories, Day On The Green #3 at the Oakland Coliseum in 1983. My friend (also named Mike) was a big Police fan at that time and let me copy all of his tapes. So when they came around to play live I was a fan too and ready to go. My aunt liked The Police and agreed to take me and my friends. So my friend Mike and my cousin Michelle got tickets and came along for the ride. The Police were headlining a Day On The Green, an all day music show that Bill Graham productions used to put on in the 70's and 80's.

I should mention my aunt likes rock music and was very cool about taking me to see shows, particularly when I first started going to concerts. She picked us up early in the morning so we could make the drive to Oakland to see the show. In the parking lot, there was Police music and T Shirts everywhere. It was a really hot summer and we expected it to be a hot one that night.

We followed the long line into the coliseum and the Thompson Twins were already playing. As we walked along the infield (I was a big baseball fan at the time so I was pumped to be on the playing field of a professional baseball team) we got our closest view of the stage. The Thompson Twins were wrapping up their set playing what was my favorite song of theirs at the time, "Lies". That moment of seeing Alannah Currie, Joe Leeway and Tom Bailey jamming away close up was burned into my brain. My aunt safely whisked us up to the top rows in the nose bleed seats. We sat down and waited for the next band to start.

That next band was the cool "It" band of the moment, Oingo Boingo. I can't say I was a fan going in because I was annoyed as hell at them for the song "Nothing Bad Ever Happens To Me" because I thought it was over repetitive. But they didn't play that song. I actually had a good time and think they played New Wave hits like "Only A Lad", "Goodbye Goodbye" and "Dead Man's Party". At least, that's what I think they played because it's been a long time. The infield turned into a dance party as I saw a dust cloud rise up above a throng of people. People couldn't get enough of Oingo Boingo's polyrhythmic grooves. The early version of the mosh pit continued throughout the rest of the day.

After Danny Elfman's group left the stage they were replaced by the British ska band Madness. They were riding high on the Top 10 smash "Our House" and I had copied that record from my friend Mike also. I remember them being an exciting live band and really getting into "One Step Beyond". The dust cloud dancers had a blast, they had great stage presence that I could see even from where I was sitting.

After Madness' set I was getting stiff in my seat and stretched my head backwards only to be accidentally kicked in the head because of good 'ol cramped stadium seating. The guy apologized because it was an accident. I wish I could say I was tough and didn't show pain but I cried like a baby. Wah.

The Fixx came on in support of their awesome album Reach The Beach, pumping out their stylish pop with clean efficiency. I only had Reach The Beach so I didn't know they had more hits, leaving me floored as "Red Skies" and "Stand Or Fall" came on in addition to "Sign Of Fire" and my fave "Saved By Zero" (now used to sell cars no less!). The romping dust cloud dancers began throwing what looked like either cups or bottles around making them look like a popcorn cooker. The mix of jumping limbs, lobbed garbage flying and dust was a unique sight that I haven't seen happen since. When The Fixx ended their set with the encore "One Thing Leads To Another" the dancers hit fever pitch.

After a pause it seemed like The Fixx got the signal to keep playing, so they played "One Thing Leads To Another" again. The fans loved it. Then, they played it a third time. As much as I liked the song, I didn't want to hear it again and complained once I heard that "pfft pfft" sound at the start of it. The Sun was finally starting to go down and The Fixx was able to leave. We ate coliseum food while waiting for the main event.

As soon as it was dark enough, The Police kicked off their show to the speedy xylophone sounds of "Synchronicity I". The three band members stood in a light like the primary colors from the album cover. The Police were tight and fired up, even playful as Andy Summers ran up behind Sting and stuck his leg between Sting's as if to kick him in the balls. It looked like Sting used his thighs to lock up Summer's leg for a bit which was pretty funny.

The first part of the show focused on side one from Synchronicity as I remember seeing an upright bass for Sting on "O My God" and groovin' to Stuart Copeland's "Miss Gradenko". As the Sun finally faded away completely the giant video screen became more visible. I was thrown off by the mismatch of motion and sound, we were seated so far away that the sound got to us after the picture. So when Copeland's stick was in the air would be when I would hear the drum hit and people would stop on screen before the music stopped. Still, I was grateful to have a close up view of the performers so I can't complain too much.

In the second half they poured on the hits. I recall almost dancing in my chair to "Spirits In The Material World". "Every Breath You Take", "King Of Pain", "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", "Don't Stand So Close To Me", "Roxanne"...the parade of smash hits went on. Funnily enough, the song that stood out the most to me was "Murder By Numbers" as it sounded real good as the night cooled off. The Police played a great concert and was the best live band I had seen up to that point (and I had seen Air Supply!).

We left the coliseum and since we were still in 1983 there was no organization to leaving. It took over an hour to leave the parking lot before we could finally go home. It was a day to remember, The Police would break up a few years later and not reform until 2007 making it an even more special. I kept a one page ad of the concert from the San Francisco Chronicle "Pink Section" on my wall as a reminder. New Wave day was a treat for those of us who couldn't make it to the US Festival, a fantastic grouping of acts that would come to define early 80's pop.
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Though this is from an Atlanta performance, here's "Synchronicity I" live from that great year.

10 - 9 - 8

The Police Sting

Time to jump into the Top 10 of my favorite albums of all time. Todo tiempo. Wrote a song about it, want to hear it? Here it goes...

10. Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska (1982)

The Boss went demo style on his '82 release, recording this album on his own with an acoustic guitar and some harmonica. Written at the height of his artistic power, Nebraska tells in detail the stories of hard luck losers who find themselves on the wrong side of morality through a combination of disposition, economics and fate. One of my favorite Boss tunes, "Highway Patrolman", is downright moving with its tale of law versus family. The soft beauty of "Mansion On The Hill" and the desperate march of "Atlantic City" add to the pile of brilliant songwriting. Ending with the rough yet optimistic "Reason To Believe", Springsteen plants a punctuation mark on an amazing album.

9. Metallica - Master Of Puppets (1986)

Tragically the final album with bassist Cliff Burton, Metallica's songcraft and sonic fury hit it's peak on the piledriving Master Of Puppets. The thunderous title track alone has become a live classic sung by Arenas around the world. "Disposable Heroes" has motivated me through my work day many times. "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" is a song I wasn't big on at first but in recent years has become a favorite, I love when they hit that bridge. "Battery" has long been high on my list of faves, a bone crushing rocker that I recently found out was named after Battery Street in San Francisco. And I will always remember this album for containing my wife's #1 Metallica song, "The Thing That Should Not Be". Pure Metal Madness.

8. The Police - Synchronicity (1983)

It was the hot, hot summer of '83 when my neighbor went on a major Police binge and bought all of their tapes (which meant I got to copy all of his tapes). Synchronicity was and is a flawless album where even the slight moments have magic. The second half reads like a greatest hits collection in itself: "Synchronicity II", "Every Breath You Take", "King Of Pain" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger". The first half had the killer "Synchronicity I", the percussion driven "Walking In Your Footsteps" and Andy Summer's demented "Mother". I spent a lot of sweaty summer nights rockin to this album and seeing them live that year was a definite highlight.

That's the first three of my Top 10, as I get closer to the end I'll go track by track on the albums to milk it for all its worth. :)

Walking On The Moon

Roxanne puts on the red light one more time as Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland jump for joy.

Last year in Oakland I got to see The Police perform as part of their reunion tour. The show I saw was a bit lackluster with flashes of greatness. I was unprepared for the trio's jazzier sound and barebones arrangements. But what made it disappointing was they seemed out of sync with each other. Their playing and singing were fine as separate parts, they just weren't jellin'. Even drummer Stewart Copeland began to publicly remark about the quality of their performances. As the tour went on, I began to read that The Police were improving and playing tighter. Still, I was unsure if that was just reunion hype or real. Now the band's new release, the 2 DVD / 2 CD set Certifiable has the last word.

Indeed the trio's playing did tighten up and become stronger as a result. Andy Summer's shimmering and careening guitar, Stewart Copeland's slapping drumwork and Sting's muscular bass lines interlock sharply. Certifiable captures a lively performance though the new arrangements still rein in some of the energy of the original tracks. At last the groups chemistry reached a point to justify their new approach.

The DVD set is divided into a concert and a documentary. The concert DVD is a real treat, the sound is mixed evenly, fully and clearly. In widescreen, the picture filled my TV screen without letterboxing. Coverage of the event was well done, good clean shots of the band members in performance as well as getting some of their interactions together to personalize it. And the Buenos Aires crowd goes nuts at every turn, no wonder they're the dream audience of every rock band. A home theater system's dream, Certifiable's concert DVD is great stuff. The overlong 2nd DVD is a documentary that doesn't do a whole lot. Reminiscent of classic Police documentary footage, it's rambling, excessive and loose. If you've seen Sting and Stewart Copeland banter before, this is no different. Too bad the second CD couldn't contain more performance footage. Oh well, it comes with the set so it's not like it's entirely worthless.

The two CD set is the same concert live. The sound on CD has a touch of a soundboard feel so at least it doesn't seemed to be fixed in post production. Without a video component the music has to stand completely on its own merits and thankfully it passes. The slight raggedness to The Police comes across stronger in a strictly audio format but it's a likeable edge this time around. It still seems like Punk Jazz, but with the band locked in a groove the stuff flies.

Like the tour, Certifiable is brought to us by Best Buy and is an enjoyable live souvenir of what I guess will be the last Police tour. If ever an 80's band deserved a victory lap The Police were it, every little thing they did was magic.