A lesson in reggae...
If the rock world ever needed a lesson in the importance of reggae in the new wave of music, the Police concerts at the PNE Gardens in Vancouver were it. Along with a fantastic opening act, the Specials, it was "raggae, mon, reggae" all weekend long.
The jam-packed Gardens (about half the size of the Stampede Corral) were the scene of pressed flesh, faces wet from perspiration (not the rain outside) and bobbing heads trying to keep the beat.
The hypnotic spell of reggae a la rock was cast over a receptive audience.
Two of Britain's top bands showed off their musical wares, blowing away in their wake anything American groups like the Cars or the Knack could ever hope to do.
It was also like watching a Shakespearian play about a king and a prince-in-waiting.
The Police is now at the top of the heap, following its success with songs like Roxanne and Message in a Bottle.
But the Specials were every bit as exciting, if not more so, showing that the royal crown of reggae rock could easily be passed on in the future, if it hasn't been already.
The Police excelled in its variations on basic reggae rhythms, toying with its speed during solos and exploding from its sleepy, hypnotic beat into frenzied finales.
Although the band is only a trio, its sound was always rich, through some excellent use of echo chambers and a synthesizer. However, the bare bass of the Police sound is the throbbing rhythm provided by the bassist, Sting, some tough lead guitar work by Andy Summers, and the drumming of Stewart Copeland.
The music is simple yet enthralling, with Sting's plaintive voice pleading for understanding.
The only time the Police got off track was when it tried to imitate Van Halen instead of sticking with its more original sound. The heavy rocking numbers marred the middle of its set, lulling the crowd into a state of dull appreciation, until the group took off with its better known tunes near the end.
The opening act of the Specials suffered no such lapse. The group is dynamic on stage, with its seven-man version of musical lunacy to a Ska beat ( a cross between rock and roll and reggae).
Dressed as Mods in their suits, short hair and narrow ties, the band bounced about the stage, delivering one tune after another with energy and precision.
Its two lead singers, Terry Hall and Neville Staples, are priceless: Hall is a mechanical, violent-looking singer rooted to one spot, while Staples climbs 30-foot speaker columns and exhorts the audience to dance, "bloody well dance."
Behind it all, the group's pumping rhythm is led by organist Jerry Dammers.
Since opening for the Clash in the summer of 1978, the Specials have gradually moved more and more into the British musical limelight.
The group opened Saturday night with its tune Dawning of a New Era, and judging from the way the Specials took a largely unsuspecting audience by storm, the prophecy suggested in that song title could come true.
The thrash of the Clash is over. Long live Ska.
(c) The Albertan by James Muretich
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