Eclectic Bill for KIIS’ ‘Unite’

When the cause is the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, you can bet the stars are going to come out. But you can’t always count on such benefits getting as wild as did the “KIIS-FM & Unite III” concert on Saturday at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre.

The hit R&B; lineup of Brandy, All-4-One, Stevie B, Spanish Fly, Tag Team and Sister Sledge was enough to get the crowd on its feet, and headliners Duran Duran were sure to add some spice. But surprise guests such as Madonna, Brian Austin Green of “Beverly Hills 90210” and even Kato Kaelin made the night a memorable one for the 15,000 or so attendees, most of whom won their tickets from the popular Top 40 station.

The mostly teen-age crowd went ecstatic when Madonna popped out on stage, even though she was just giving a brief safe-sex pep talk rather than performing.

Kaelin, however, wasn’t met with such favor. After deejay Rick Dees introduced him as the new bass player for Duran Duran, Kaelin at first got no response from the dumbfounded audience, then received mostly boos. (Is it possible that even 14-year-olds are sick of seeing his face?)

Kaelin was nice enough to be one of many, ahem, celebrities to donate items for the “KIIS & Unite III” charity auction. Kaelin’s donation, sitting near a football and a jersey signed by O.J. Simpson and legal pads from Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden, was a Conair 1600 autographed hair dryer. Also among the items were a signed Gibson Flying V guitar that Michael Jackson used in his “Scream” video, a vintage Cadillac donated by Christian Slater and sunglasses autographed by Jack Nicholson.

The music was still probably the highlight of everyone’s evening, though. The brief, 20-minute sets made this a buffet-like concert, with audience members tasting such Top 10 hits as All-4-One’s “I Swear,” Tag Team’s “Whoomp! (There It Is)” and Stevie B’s “Because I Love You.” They also got a sampling of pop history with Sister Sledge. This was likely the first time much of the young crowd had heard more than the five seconds of “We Are Family” heard in the “Greatest Hits of the ‘70s” commercials.

The odd billing of glam rockers Duran Duran headlining the R&B; concert made it inevitable that a large portion of the crowd would leave before the band came on stage.

What did they miss? Mainly singer Simon LeBon aiming a crotch-thrusting serenade to 16-year-old Brandy, who was standing off stage, and urging the girls in the audience to take off their shirts. Fortunately, none of them were taken in by his pathetic sex-symbol posturing.