|
by Joe X. Price
Andy Gibb, the handsome 20-year-old kid brother of the Bee Gees, played to a two-thirds filled auditorium (about 10,000) June 6, went through 16 tunes and totally mesmerized the screaming, idol-worshipping, predominately female teeny-bopper crowd.
The 80-minute performance by Gibb followed a rather dull but well coordinated hour-long set by the hard-rock group, Sherbert. While lead singer Daryl Braithwaite performed aptly (if not inspiringly) on most tunes and drummer Alan Sandow was strongly dynamic throughout, the set's lack of variation in tempo and its overall overkill negated most plusses.
The electricity in the air at the half-hour intermission between acts virtually turned into waves of squealing as Gibb finally made his initial appearance onstage.
Attired in a three-piece suit, which by show's end, dwindled to just one--his trousers--young Gibb immediately cast his spell over the adoring crowd with a nervous rendering of "Flowing Rivers" and "Starlight." (The nervousness came from a standup mike which not only wouldn't stand up when put down but spewed out an annoying feedback as well.)
He regained his composure, however, when he went into a selection from his current LP "Shadow Dancing," which for the first time accentuated the Gibb-patented falsetto voice. Once he got into some other chart-busters like "Everlasting Love," "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" and last year's click, "I Just Want To Be Your Everything," it was all down hill for Gibb. The squealing never let up.
Except for the baring of his chest in the final moments of his act, he never fell from grace. His only mistake came when he sang "Words" as a tribute to his brothers and asked the audience to sing along; few were old enough to remember the song, let along the words.
Backed by a band that was comprised of two guitars, two keyboards, drums, bass and percussion, Gibb pranced his way across the stage with a cat-like smoothness which belied his tender years.
Save for the dulling effect some of his self-penned non-hits evoked, it obvious that young Gibb has learned his lessons well from his older brothers.
|