POP MUSIC REVIEW : A Protean Steve Miller at Celebrity Theatre

What happened at Steve Miller’s show Thursday at the Celebrity Theatre in Anaheim was almost too incongruous to fathom.

The expected incongruity--the musical one involving Miller’s recent transformation from rock hit maker to revivalist of old jazz tunes and blues/R&B; nuggets--proved not to be so incongruous after all. Backed by jazz-pop pianist Ben Sidran and Sidran’s band, Miller managed to structure his 2 1/2-hour show so that the mellow oldies he wanted to showcase from his recent album, “Born 2B Blue,” didn’t clash with “The Joker,” “Fly Like an Eagle,” and all the other hits that his fans wanted to hear the most.

No, the evening’s true enigma was how a middle-aged man with a paunchy stomach, short hair, a round, jowly face and a neighborly, nice-guy persona suddenly turns into an object of female adoration verging on Elvismania. Young women kept throwing themselves at Miller during the hits segment, trying to land a hug and a kiss on his teddy-bearish person.

When not fending off admirers, Miller played impeccably clean and tasteful guitar and sang at the top of his form. But even at his best, Miller’s voice doesn’t have the presence to be convincing on such standards as “God Bless the Child” and Mel Torme’s “Born to Be Blue.”

Sidran, an old crony of Miller’s, led a band versatile enough to handle the rock along with the jazz and blues--although most of the rockers could have used more punch. They were punchy enough, however, for a crowd that received Miller’s jazz and blues explorations warmly, but went joyously bonkers over the rock fare.

The show’s finest moment, though, was neither rock hit nor jazz/blues reconstruction. It was a propulsive instrumental version of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” in which Miller and band, lifted by the spirit of the season, really did fly like eagles.