ANDERSON OFFERS UNINSPIRED GOODS

It’s a safe bet that when Laurie Anderson was playing lofts and galleries in New York’s avant-garde circuit, no one in the audience whooped like a Johnny Winter fan or screamed for “O Superman.” Now that she’s playing big pop-music halls like the Universal Amphitheatre (where she headlined Saturday), that’s the kind of thing that’s popping up--and it was surprising that a performer whose bread and butter is ironic cultural commentary didn’t play off it at all.

That’s because Anderson was always in character, whether singing relatively conventional songs, delivering “lectures” (complete with note cards in hand) or dancing jerky, convulsive dances. In going for a thoroughly theatrical experience, she eliminated a lot of spirit and spontaneity, which might not have mattered if the theatrical element had been more effective. But some segments were weak, the films and slides were routine, some songs went on too long, and at times Anderson was prone to complacency and glibness.

Her familiar strengths emerged too--the technological trickery, the Zen-like observations, the playful, provocative personality, the haunting blend of the futuristic and the primordial in songs like “Big Science.” Anderson might be unwinding after her ultra-ambitious “United States” project, but at this point she seems in need of some major new impetus or inspiration.