Glib Showman Rogers: Crossover and Clip-Ons

What with new traditionalists such as Randy Travis and Dwight Yoakam claiming the recent country charts and awards, it has been said that the time has passed for Kenny Rogers and his watered-down ilk. That word clearly hadn’t filtered down Saturday to Anaheim’s Celebrity Theatre, where the first of Rogers’ five sold-out weekend shows was accepted with polite rapture by his fans.

Everything that critics revile in him was on display: the most torpid voice this side of Raymond Burr; the innocuous “crossover” material; the glib showman who, despite any number of aw-shucks digressions, manages to end the show exactly within the 65-minute production schedule.

But, that said, Rogers isn’t at all an unpleasant person to spend an hour with. Several of his many audience interactions showed a self-deprecating wit and spontaneity (a handy thing when dealing with fans who hand him clip-on ties or scrutinize him with binoculars from the third row). He also managed to fit in 16 songs, with his worn voice doing credible service even to warhorses like “Lady.”

Though opener Kathy Mattea’s performance was hampered by its brevity and a stilted stage set-up, she gave charged performances to “Goin’ Gone” and “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses,” a truck-stop jukebox standard if ever there were one.