POP MUSIC REVIEW : MECHANICS AT AMPHITHEATRE

Mike + the Mechanics, a group developed by guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford to occupy his time between Genesis projects, almost seemed to be two different bands Tuesday at the Universal Amphitheatre.

For the first three-quarters of the 75-minute set, the sextet came off as just another arena outfit, its colorlessness embodied by the vocals of Paul Young (no, not that Paul Young).

Things picked up, though, when co-lead singer Paul Carrack, whose function for much of the show had seemed to be to stand in for Phil Collins, took the reins with “Tempted,” a song he originally sang as a member of Squeeze.

Through the remainder of the evening the Mechanics made like a straight-ahead pub band with a series of soul-influenced rockers--including the Young-sung hit “All I Need Is a Miracle,” and a percolating encore of the Spencer Davis Group classic “Gimme Some Lovin’ “--delivered in pleasingly workmanlike fashion.

Through it all, Rutherford himself stayed pretty much a background figure, serving as congenial host between numbers but taking only a couple of guitar solos and leaving Carrack, Young and infectiously exuberant keyboardist Adrian Lee to provide the personality.

Keep It Dark, a young Liverpool band, made its local debut in the opening slot. Given the way people lap up faceless, by-the-numbers rock these days, it’ll probably be back.