Police take charge, inspire...

An hour before going on stage, the Police flew in by helicopter to a landing site behind Sullivan Stadium. Lead singer Sting said later that he was so nervous at flying over the capacity crowd of 61,000 that "I was almost sick with fear."

But that fear must have stayed in the helicopter because once Sting and his mates got on stage they were magnificent, playing a free-and-easy concert that was the perfect exclamation point to another clear night under the stars in Foxborough. It was a night in which rock 'n' roll was on the spot - with the future of stadium concerts in jeopardy if there was rowdiness - but the musicians and fans rose to the occasion, turning this into the summer highlight that all had wished from the start.

It was a night of unity, as a broad-based crowd of teens, college kids and more than a few over-30s pulled together under the aegis of-the Police, who were the ideal band to be on the hot seat since they've always symbolised the positive, spiritual side of rock as opposed to its decadent element.

A former English teacher who has an uncanny mixture of intelligence and charisma, Sting was the sparkplug. Looking like a friendly swashbuckler in baggy red trousers, black boots and a loose-fitting white shirt, he led the crowd through inspired singalongs while the younger teens in the audience shrieked as though he were John Lennon in the prime of the Beatles. Sting also again proved he is far more than just a pretty face. He played bass guitar, synthesiser and African pipes - during the haunting 'Walking In Your Footsteps' - and moved easily from subtlety to muscle in his vocals as excellent stadium sound framed his every coo and shout.

His gift for comedy was also apparent when he, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland suddenly left the stage late in the concert. Followed by a video camera which relayed the picture onto the massive Diamond Vision screen atop the stage, they went into a rear dressing room and literally took a British tea break. They all put on stovepipe dunce caps, mugged for the camera and sipped politely until Sting, with a fiendish smile, yanked the white tablecloth and upset all the cups as the crowd roared with vicarious laughter.

But there is no stereotyping this band. Playing at the peak of their powers - they may be the most popular group in the world at the moment - they also dared to be extremely cerebra, playing songs influenced by psychologist Carl Jung (Synchronicity I), by novelist Paul Bowles (the cosmic 'Tea in the Sahara', where Summers' echoplexed guitar added a floating atmosphere to a song dense in desert imagery) and by the mystic Gurdjieff (Spirits In The Material World).

Looking dapper in a white Great Gatsby suit, guitarist Summers grabbed more spotlight than usual with his venturesome reggae rhythms, pinging noises and occasional bursts of crying rock, while drummer Copeland was again his workhorse self and the group's undeniable anchor. The only complaints were the way the three backup singers were unfairly kept in the dark to the side of the stage; and to the band's tacky 'tie-in' with MTV, the music cable station which programmed music before the Police's set and shamelessly plugged itself.

Of the opening acts, the Fixx and A Flock of Seagulls, the former was the best received. Their funky syncopations (as in their current hit "Saved by Zero") and clever lyrics about trying to get one's life together in spite of the maze of everyday life, were bolstered by a heavier rock presence than expected. However, A Flock Of Seagulls faltered, as their bubblegum new wave sound often fell into repetitive ruts.It remained for the Police to take charge.

Although It has been only six years since Sting & Co. played at Boston's Rat club - a memory Sting alluded to twice last night - they showed their rise has not only been meteoric but also well deserved.

© The Boston Globe by Steve Morse

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