Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Despite a more than two hour delay in its concert, the absence of one of its members and some early mixing trouble, Deee-Lite performed a fun, musically diverse concert Sunday night at the Riviera that showed it has a lot more to offer than a stylishly retro look.
The Replacements made brilliant noise Saturday night at the Aragon Ballroom, performing a concert that was inspired in its unabashed celebration of music and unusual in its uncharacteristic professionalism. Their latest album, “All Shook Down,” may be a product of vocalist Paul Westerberg’s musical tastes, but at the Replacements’ concert, each member had his turn in the spotlight. The Aragon’s muddled acoustics make most artists sound foreign, and Westerberg’s raspy vocals at times fell victim to the venue.
A high school sophomore, Mayim Bialik more than holds her own in the title role opposite a cast of older, more experienced actors. Her co-stars include Ted Wass (of “Soap” fame) as her befuddled father and Eileen Brennan as their cantankerous neighbor. Bialik portrays 14-year-old Blossom Russo, the lone female in a household that includes two very immature older brothers. In tonight’s episode, Blossom’s coming-of-age is dealt with in a way that could make viewers uncomfortable. What could have been a touching and humorous look at how she views her first menstrual cycle with both amazement and fear is instead turned into a tacky lesson on what not to do in comedy.
Not playing instruments, not singing and not dancing must have winded them, because after performing for a half hour, 2 Live Crew left the stage for almost that same amount of time. When they returned, they seemed refreshed enough to pick on some more women and encourage the men to call their dates “whores” and “bitches.”
Television actress Susan Lucci will be the center of attention again later this month when the 17th annual Daytime Emmys are presented in New York. But it won’t be because people are expecting her to win an award. Already a 10-time loser for best actress in a daytime serial, Lucci gets more publicity every year for not winning an Emmy than her peers do for winning.
When he was a child, actor Matthew Perry said, he had a major crush on Valerie Bertinelli. She was the co-star of “One Day at a Time,” a popular CBS sitcom. Years later, when CBS cast Perry to play the boyfriend of Bertinelli’s character on her new “Sydney” series, he was on Cloud 9. But after he had psyched himself up to kiss the actress, the producers told Perry they were changing his character from her boyfriend to her younger brother.
Michael St. Gerard’s Presley is the singer during his most attractive stage. Slim-hipped and ever-so-surly lipped, Presley idealistically dreams of fame and fortune as a means of moving his family up from its poor socio-economic roots. St. Gerard’s portrayal of Elvis also has won him admirers both with longtime Presley fans and with the press. Although “Elvis” hasn’t been the ratings winner ABC hoped it would be, the network seems committed to giving the show a chance. With nine shows already in the can, ABC gave the producers the go-ahead to film four more episodes this month.
Starting the show with his current single, “Too Late to Say Goodbye,” Richard Marx seemed a little uncomfortable. But halfway through the song, he got the feel for the cavernous venue. He loosened up and exhibited a bit of fancy footwork he may have picked up from his wife, dancer-actress-singer Cynthia Rhodes.
Rap sensations D. J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince are famous for hits such as “Parents Just Don’t Understand” and “I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson.” But fans will see another side of them when the duo sings an unusual version of “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” on a Disney special.
From the screeching that erupted when Barry Manilow stepped onstage Friday night at the Chicago Theatre, you would’ve thought he was one of the New Kids on the Block, and that the predominantly fortysomething audience was filled with love-crazed schoolgirls.