POP MUSIC REVIEW : Zapp’s Exuberance Overcomes Gimmicks

There was more bounce to the oeuvre on Friday as Zapp zoomed into the Celebrity Theatre for what seemed like the zillionth time.

The long-lived band from Dayton, Ohio, unwrapped pretty much the same box of funk confections as ever, including its 1980 breakthrough hit “More Bounce to the Ounce.” An ounce is about the sum total of the weight and substance of Zapp’s stage repertoire. But the band played with the exuberance and skill that can make a Zapp show seem like a rip-roaring party teetering on the edge of heady chaos, even though it actually is one of the most gimmicky and choreographed hours of pop programming extant.

The new element that made this show a little sweeter than the good ones it has played in the past and that gave some underlying substance to its diet of dance-happy fluff was the concert’s subtext: Hard work and devotion to craft do pay.

Bandleader Roger Troutman and the rest of his crew have been playing the Southern California market steadily for years, whether they had a hot record or not. Now their new compilation, “Zapp & Roger: All the Greatest Hits,” is one of the Top 10 sellers in the region.

Rewarded with a near-capacity crowd, Zapp and Roger paid back their young audience with a flawless funk party.