POP WEEKEND : 2 Bar Bands Bring Intimate Substance to Irvine Meadows

Great White and Tesla are basically bar bands with a little extra sparkle that they parlay into arena-status popularity. When the two rock bands played Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on Saturday, they brought an intimate, party-down feel with them.

The show was sold out, proving that the groups’ teen-age audience knows the difference between substance and empty flash.

The more experienced Great White, which has released three albums on Capitol and several independent LPs, received first billing. Singer Jack Russell provided the oomph to the hourlong set with his masculine strutting and blatantly sexual patter. While the L.A.-based quintet kept the energy fairly low key by hard-rock standards, the band exuded a warmth that drew in the enthusiastic crowd.

It was not until the middle of the set, with its cover of Angel City’s “Face the Day” that preceded such older numbers as “Rock Me,” that Great White tapped the combination of smoky sexuality and brute force that is lacking in much of its current album, “Twice Shy.” However, certain new songs--notably the lewd-and-rude “Mista Bone”--have an earthy appeal.

Co-headliner Tesla does not have the most scintillating presence either, but its musicianship and songwriting skills were solidly entertaining. The bluesy tunes give this Sacramento band an added edge.

Frank Hannon provided wicked slide work on “No Way Out” from the quintet’s current album, “The Great Radio Controversy.” Tesla’s other lead guitarist, Tommy Skeoch, threw some whirling hair and wild solos into the show. The smooth-moving Jeff Keith has the lanky appeal of a Steven Tyler and slightly ragged vocals that shine on numbers such as “Hang Tough” and “Little Suzi.”

Perpetual openers Kix started the show. With the punch and panache of its hard rock--and an electric, irreverent vocalist in Steve Whiteman--it’s a mystery why this quintet cannot pull itself above third billing.

The same bill was scheduled to play San Diego’s Open Air Theatre on Sunday.