Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 72

D10 a The Arizona Republic Saturday, September 26, 1998 Hootie comes home to its bar-band roots Channel 15 bucks tradition, curbs sports coverage 4 4 1 Vh) is MEDIA NOTES CONCERT REVIEW Hootie the Blowfish With Jump Little Children. Thursday at Celebrity Theatre. 1 jj i 1 1 Paul F. GeroThe Arizona Republic Hootie the Blowfish put on a comfortable, intimate show at the sold-out Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix on Thursday night. By Randy Cordova The Arizona Republic Hootie the Blowfish may not have roots in Arizona, but the group's engaging two-hour concert oh Thursday felt like a homecoming.

Part of it could be that the superstar band has been off the road for a while, and away from a Valley stage for two years. More likely, all the good vibes came from the group playing the smallish Celebrity Theatre as opposed to its usual arena-size venue. And with the Celebrity reduced to a half house and the circular stage not rqtating, it was almost like watching the four guys playing in some Mill Avenue hideaway. That's very appropriate because the mega-selling Hootie sprang to life as a bar band in Columbia, S.C. It was a comfortable, intimate show, made even more so by the low-key setting.

Four table lamps decorated the stage. Lighting effects were minimal; at times, lead singer Darius Rucker's face was hidden in shadow, reinforcing the clubby atmosphere. The move to small quarters was not brought about by a huge drop in popularity; instead, the band is road-testing materia! before striking out on an amphitheater tour later this year. That also added to the appealing looseness of the set, which mixed familiar hits, album tracks, smart cover tunes and songs from Musical like it, you really like it. And the sold-out audience, which looked a lot like the band in dress (jock casual) and in age (mid 30s), really liked it.

The cfowd offered reserved enthusiasm in the beginning. Eight songs in, however, the band performed a fun, free-wheeling version of Old Man Me (When I Get to Heaven). That brought the house to its feet, where it remained for most of the night. "Now, that's the Arizona I know!" a beaming Rucker declared. The new material pushed the group into new territories.

Wishing stomped with a harder edge than one expects from Hootie, anchored by Dean Felber's churning bass work. The heartfelt Only Lonely was a poignant midnight confession. Open Zeppelin duo put on powerful performance lhannel 15 (K.NXV) seems to 6e saying "phooey" to sports with an unusual new ap proach in its 6 and 10 p.m. news- casts. Starting on Monday, the station Amoved sports to the middle of the news shows and cut it back to two minutes, equally divided between Craig Fouhy's commentary and voiced-over highlights with scores posted below.

I "The segments are called "Fouhy on Sports" get it? and "Sports in a TJews.director Bob Morford said two minutes is "the amount of time that is appropriate" for sports "It's definitely different," he said. Typically, Valley stations run three to five minutes of sports at the end of the news, often including plenty of scores and highlights. In a town like Phoenix, where sports often dominates the civic agenda, the coverage often can be more. But it comes at a price, of viewers who simply don't like sports and of the substantial commitments of money it takes to cover sports here and on the road. Channel 15, an ABC affiliate that has struggled in the local news ratings, may have decided sports aren't worth it, and that, with all the other avenues available for the fan, it can do without traditional coverage.

Station manager Brad Nilsen acknowledges the "There was an opportunity and a need to it Fouhy, whose background is in football coaching and broadcasting, says he thinks there may be a niche for what the station is trying. His first two 10 p.m. commentaries chided fans for leaving Sun Devil Stadium before games are over and recommended that Cardinals quarterback Jake Plummer be given a chance. Asked why his remarks don't have a little more bite, he said, "I'm new at this." So is the station. For anyone who thinks sports is too dominant, it could be a refreshing change.

Around the dial Morning radio used to be easy to negotiate with kids in the car. Avoid Howard Stern until they were dropped off at school, and reserve sampling of rdp acts until a later "hour. But recent events have to leave the legion of commuting parents wary. It's not just President Clinton and the Starr Report, which every morning personality has discussed. Even the commercials especially one for the remake of the movie Psycho and another urging cosmetic surgery may force parents to hit Chairs, the-group's third disc.

Musical Chairs is seen as a make-it-or-break-it disc for Hootie. The band's debut sold more than 14 copies, but follow-up Fairwea-ither Johnson sold 3 million. Naysayers crowed about the downfall of the group, which faced the usual backlash when a band hits such heady heights. A few years away from Hootie-mania (and anti-Hootie hysteria), it's a little easier to evaluate the band. Everything fans love about the group remains, but the stuff that bugs Hootie haters still applies, too.

Rucker's gruff, blustery baritone is a captivating instrument, but he still tends to swallow his words in emotional passages. It's distracting, if not a fatal flaw. The band's material tends to work from a fairly limited palette. The songs alternate between upbeat, beer-swilling chuggers that are easy to sing along with and ballads that are affecting, if slightly mopey. It's the kind of stuff that, if you Mike RynearsonThe Arizona Republic Robert Plant belts out Heartbreaker at America West Arena.

It was clear the pair still inspire each other as they exchanged frequent, warm eye contact. As the show progressed and the nearly sellout crowd went wild over virtually every offering, the two rock legends seemed to drink in the adulation. At one point, as Plant, 50, prepared to scream the lusty coda to Whole Lotta Love, he paused and smiled, apparently taken aback by the thousands of voices accompanying him at America West Arena. Page's playing was particularly jaw-dropping on Heartbreaker and How Many More Times, which date back to Led Zeppelin's first two al )Body Contouring By Real Plastic Surgeons 'i Accept So Lest! reshape your body sives vou results! a ft n. 1 I mm 0 ii North Valley Plastic Surgery Steven M.

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3811 East Bell Road Suite 202 Phoenix Arizona RSVP (602) 271-655 1 PiMomi It Pwtonai bums. Page roared into blurred-finger speed mode, then capped the assault by taking a violin bow to his instrument in the latter song. Plant, who favored low-key swaying and mystical hand motions over the rooster strut of his '70s prime, brought new depth to Ramble On and Babe I'm Gonna Leave You. His voice hit the upper range perfectly in Going to California and How Many More Times. Fully up to the daunting task of backing this high-octane duo were drummer Michael Lee and bassist Charlie Jones.

Though he is a powerful percussionist in his own right, Lee evoked memories of late Zeppelin drummer John Bonham during the raucous Rock Roll. An acoustic interlude spotlighting Page on a double-neck Ovation guitar was highlighted by Tangerine. from Led Zeppelin's third album. Phil Andrews shone on keyboards, mandolin and squeeze box during these songs, as well as an other ing act Jump Little Children sup- ported the four members on that tune, adding a richness to the sound. Like any great bar band, I lootie knows its way around a cover tune.

The band's sly mix ranged from U2's Sunday, Bloody Sunday "We've never done that onstage before," a breathless Rucker said to Hope That I Don 't Fall in Love With You, a Tom Waits ballad that became a gorgeous duet between Rucker and guitarist Mark Bryan. The group used its encores to engage in some offbeat cover songs. Hootie and Kiss don't seem like a marriage made in heaven, but Calling Dr. Love was loud and lively, perhaps a loving nod from one great guilty pleasure to another. worldly No Quarter.

Noticeably absent from the night's set list was Zeppelin's most well-known hit, Stairway to Heaven. The set of nearly two hours also managed to draw the audience, ranging in age from the to the 50s, into some new songs from the Walking Into Clarksdale album. Most High, featuring a dramatic guitar introduction, Middle Eastern-flavored vocals and bass that literally shook the building, evoked much enthusiasm from the band. When the World Was Young, half mellow chant and half rocker, also was well-received. In their perfectly paced performance, Page and Plant satisfied their audience's voracious appetite for Led Zeppelin's past while proving that tlfey're still capable of producing moving, new music.

Also warmly received was opening act Lili Haydn, a new violin-wielding singer whose songs mixed avant-garde and hard rock sounds. 2 By Larry Rodgers The Arizona Republic They may have a fine new album to promote, but Jimmy Page and Robert Plant chose to serve up a whole lotta Led Zeppelin classics in their powerhouse Phoenix performance. From the ominous opening guitar riff of The Wanton Song to a rave-up encore of Rock Roll, the two former Zeppelin front men appeared to thoroughly enjoy performing the '70s hits that made them superstars. Page strapped on his trusty vintage Les Paul guitar REVIEW Jimmy Page and Robert Plant With Lili Haydn. Thursday at America West Arena.

to fire off a string of breathtaking, extended leads that demonstrated that, at 54, he's still got plenty of magic in those fingers. Plant's provocative vocals rose to the rafters, though he traded some of the high notes for a more mature, emotional treatment of the lyrics. Seminar1 i 'X'CHAEL CLANCY mibe'Arviina Republic thsiir4uton. So parents had to be happy when they heard Radio Disney was coming to town a couple months ago. On the air at K.CWW-AM (1580), it bills itself as a safe harbor.

"With Radio Disney, parents don't have to worry about song lyrics or what an on-air personality might say" the press release says. That's true, as far as it goes. Disney Radio has shown itself to be a safe harbor but so far it hasn't proven to be a very desirable one. Full of games, contests, trivia bits, jingles, sound effects and frequent station IDs, delivered in rapid-fire sequence by energetic personalities, it's more style than substance. Right now, the best alternative to the radio remains the cassette tape.

Billboard Magazine and its sister publication, Airplay Monitor, handed out radio awards last weekend at the Pointe Hilton Resort at Tapatio Cliffs, and they had a strong local flavor. KNIX-FM (102.5), one of Phoenix's country music giants, won in the country category for best large-market station, best program director in Larry Daniels and best music director for Buddy Owens a management sweep. Others nominated from the Valley included Ben and Brian of KMLE-FM (107.9) in the personality category and Mike Del Rosso of K.ESZ-FM (99.9) in the adult-contemporary program director category. Stu Evans won $350 in a trivia contest. Emcee Dick Clark, who won a lifetime achievement award, said next year's awards would take place "somewhere cooler than Phoenix hell." Ha ha.

Perry Damone, KEZ's man of 'all' seasons, moves to the midday slot 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday. He replaces Del Rosso, who will take on PD duties full time. Damone had been doing traffic and remotes on the Beth and Bill morning show, and he also has done afternoons for the station.

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