POP MUSIC REVIEW : Debbie Gibson at Her Best at Celebrity Theatre

True, they did do the wave to fill time during a pre-concert delay, but if you were to chalk up the outpouring of affection that greeted Debbie Gibson at Anaheim’s Celebrity Theatre on Sunday night to fans that are easily amused, you’d be selling this performer short. In a show that ran a full two hours of singing, dancing and jamming through 21 musical numbers, the former teen-pop queen (she’s now nearly 21) gave back at least as much as she got.

Gibson, joined off and on throughout the evening by four acrobatic male dancers and two backup singers in addition to a full touring band, kicked things off in high gear with the dance-oriented “One Step Ahead” and “Another Brick Falls” off her latest “Anything Is Possible” album. Bubblegum hits “Shake Your Love” and “Out of the Blue” followed, maintaining a frenetic pace that seemed suited for an aerobics class.

But just when Gibson was in danger of becoming spun sugar, she elected wisely to slow the pace with a doo-wop version of “Only in My Dreams.” A well-balanced alternating of her trademark tinkling-keyboard ballads and up-tempo pop tunes filled out the evening.

Aside from a new haircut, Gibson showed few signs of real change (or maturation) since her “Out of the Blue” and “Electric Youth” tours.

Still, this is one talented and as yet forgivably young artist, ambitious enough to write, produce and belt out all her own material. And Gibson in concert is Gibson at her best--a performer who seems born to the stage.