Jan. 21, 1980 review: The Police and XTC in UB's Clark Gym

 

The Police, having sold out Harvey & Corky's Stage One in March 1979, begin the new decade with another full house in Buffalo, this time at UB.

Jan. 21, 1980 

Rock-reggae Fusion Gets Stinging Display

         Even though it’s obviously a couple sizes too big for him, the gray jacket he wears Sunday night gives Sting (as Gordon Sumner calls himself) a certain mature hauteur as he leads the Police into a spirited charge through their first number, “All I Want Is to Get Next to You.”

         It’s the same attitude Sting struck as Ace, the king of the Mods, in the Who’s movie, “Quadrophenia.” He’s a man of quality. One writer observed that when Sting sings reggae, it’s not wild, natty dreadlocks reggae. Instead, it’s neat, blow-dry reggae.

         What’s more, not one hair is out of place. Sting’s mock-Jamaican falsetto and the rhythmic savvy of drummer Stew Copeland (in gym shorts) and guitarist Andy Summers combine to give a clean pioneering display of rock-reggae fusion.

         Most of the British trio’s hour-plus set in the University at Buffalo’s Clark Gym bounces along happily to the syncopated Caribbean beat, laced with occasional bursts of 4/4 rock ‘n roll to give it an extra kick.

         But aside from the long instrumental break in “Bring on the Night” and a couple others, the reggae numbers seem to lull the sell-out audience. It takes the band’s radio hit, “Roxanne,” to rouse them for what ultimately becomes a smashingly energetic double encore.

         The hypnotic qualities of reggae explain why the Police ejected Buffalo’s Third Floor Strangers from the opening spot on the bill, reducing the three-band show to two groups. Starting the evening then, was the British New Wave art-rock quartet XTC.

         XTC’s strong suits were super drumming, quirky instrumental drones and bursts of harmony that inspired the crowd to go “EEE-ooo” in imitation. For visual interest, their spotlights cast grid patterns on them.

         One might go so far as to call them England’s answer to Talking Heads. Like Talking Heads, their set gathered intensity as it rolled along, until the music fairly snapped and shimmered. Once the crowd got used to XTC, they thought enough of them to call them back for an encore.

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IN THE PHOTO: The Police in a 1980 tour poster.

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FOOTNOTE: With the release of their second album, “Reggatta de Blanc,” in October, the Police were well on their way to becoming an arena attraction. Here’s what setlist.fm says they played at UB:

Next to You

So Lonely

Walking on the Moon

Hole in My Life

Deathwish

Fall Out

Truth Hits Everybody (slow version)

Bring on the Night

Visions of the Night

Message in a Bottle

The Bed's Too Big Without You

Peanuts

Roxanne

(encore)

Can't Stand Losing You

Reggatta de Blanc

(second encore)

Landlord

Born in the '50s

XTC tried to avoid falling into standard styles of the day, but never became more than a cult favorite in the U.S. Their tour as an opening act for the Police, which stretched into 1981 and took them around the world, was their high point and planted the seeds for their downfall. It aggravated guitarist and singer Andy Partridge’s mental distress and he abruptly stopped performing mid-tour in 1982.

No setlist for XTC in Clark Gym, but here's what they played later that week opening for the Police in the Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor, Mich.:

Real by Reel

When You're Near Me I Have Difficulty

Life Begins at the Hop

The Rhythm

Meccanik Dancing (Oh We Go!)

Roads Girdle the Globe

Ten Feet Tall

Helicopter

This Is Pop

Battery Brides (Andy Paints Brian)

Instant Tunes

Crowded Room

Complicated Game

Making Plans for Nigel

Outside World

Dance Band

Statue of Liberty