POP MUSIC REVIEW : Gaines’ Beautiful, Empty Sound

Davis Gaines kept his audience waiting nearly a half-hour beyond the scheduled start time of his Saturday concert at the Universal Amphitheatre. Not a wise move for a performer who, despite his recent prominence in the Los Angeles company of “The Phantom of the Opera,” is not exactly a household name.

Nor did Gaines reveal any further sensitivity toward his listeners when he obliged them to call for a second encore before he finally got around to singing “The Music of the Night.”

Gaines is an attractive performer, with a pliable, well-trained voice and the classic look of a buoyantly youthful male musical-theater lead. But his readings of songs ranging from “Begin the Beguine” and “Tea for Two” to the “Soliloquy” from “Carousel” were flawed by his focus on the production of beautiful sound, rather than the telling of a musical story. Not until he sang a group of three Stephen Sondheim pieces--”Anyone Can Whistle,” “Losing My Mind” and “Being Alive”--did Gaines indicate any significant ability to connect with the inner life of a song.

Fortunately, Roslyn Kind--Gaines’ “guest star”--provided some real moments of musical substance. Still occasionally reminiscent of her half-sister Barbra Streisand, Kind nonetheless has matured into an impressive singer in her own right.