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Artscene Oakville Beaver · FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 2006 29 Police Picnic rocked Oakville 25 years ago By Chris Zabel SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER The Police Picnic is something like Oakville's secret Woodstock. In 1981 an audience of 25,000 saw Sting at the peak of his credibility as an artist, headline an allday concert that more or less defines where New Wave music came from. Twenty-five years ago fans were recovering from the Aug. 23 event. "It's mythical, like maybe it never happened," said John Forsythe, owner of Cactus Records on Kerr Street. Every few years someone walks into his shop asking about the show. While he wasn't in attendance, Forsythe acknowledges the stature of the bands that played. The Police were huge in 1981. At the time they were being talked about as a groundbreaking "white reggae" band. Think of the first time you heard Roxanne. Sting was really good and it was the promise of the Police that drew the bulk of the crowd. They were a brilliant end to the day, taking the stage around 11 p.m. But the crowd had to earn it! The show started early in the afternoon during a sweltering Sunday. The venue was the Grove, a 70-acre farm field that had never hosted a concert before, located northwest of Trafalgar Road and Highway 5. The Canadian acts opened the show, most notably the Payola$ and Nash the Slash. "It was an historical event for Oakville," said Keith Dawes, owner of Recordings on Kerr Street, for- Cover of the official Police Picnic program merly Records on Wheels where Police Picnic tickets were sold. He was a relatively new music store owner at the time and attended on free tickets out of curiosity. "It was New Wave, while people were still riding high on Led Zeppelin," said Dawes. Not a fan of either day-long-concert burnout or the early '80s, Dawes has fond memories of Nash the Slash's performance. At the time Nash had an eccentric one-man act, most notable for the fact that he'd only perform with his face in mummy wrap. Dawes is still friends with the musician who lives in Toronto and works on movie scores. Security problems were focused on following the Police Picnic. Almost appropriately, there were 200 Halton Regional Police officers policing the show. The reported marijuana cloud over the audience throughout the afternoon produced three arrests. In addition, the cops began confiscating the watermelons that were for sale because people were spiking them with liquor. The concert started to get really interesting starting late afternoon with Oingo Boingo and Killing Joke. The show had started late and the musicians were frustrated by the short sets they were being allowed. But this is how the music industry works when it's at its best. Important new bands gain exposure on the coattails of established pop acts. New Wave music developed in the early '80s and The Police Picnic is a snapshot of this evolution in music history. Punk rock became fused with Ska and Pop to produce something new. Oakville saw Iggy Pop, the Specials, and the Go-Gos - three acts that are still deeply influential to modern alternative music. The capper is that Killing Joke started bringing the crowd to its feet in the early evening. "The Joke" is still cited as an inspiration to current hardcore acts. This is where New Wave became heavy and sullen, and hard. "I'd never really heard about Iggy Pop, but from the second he came on stage he really blew my socks off," recalled Viliam Hrubovcak. Now the owner of the Photosynthesis portrait studio on Kerr Street, the Police Picnic was a seminal event in his life. He was 21 and this was the first concert he'd ever smuggled a camera into. There would be many more. "You still felt like you could get close to these guys," said Hrubovcak. Iggy Pop is now widely recognized as a lion of punk rock; 25 years ago he was giving interviews suggesting that fans bring eggs to throw at him. It was a great point in his career to see him in action. The Photosynthesis archives include a collection of shots from the Police Picnic, none of them very good. But it was an inspiration for a young artist. Hrubovcak remembers crowding the stage to find the best angles to shoot from. A few years later he published his first photo. Ten years later he met Sting again and captured a professional image. The Go-Gos followed Iggy: a five-member girl band from Hollywood. Their major hit We Got the Beat is classic. What's not well known is that they built their popularity touring Britain with Ska bands. They may have been a semimanufactured girl group, but the music speaks for itself ­ you've got to love the Go-Gos! Their fame was just beginning to break when they played Oakville. See Police page 30 END-OF-SEASON RENOVATION SAL ! ALE! A O SALE! 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