Sole brother Bill Medley puts righteous touch on yule show

Personal loss mingled with the healing power of love at the annual Colors of Christmas show Saturday at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, so much so that the evening’s most moving performance was the one that wasn’t there.

The late Bobby Hatfield didn’t sing a lick, yet the capacity crowd heard every note of the Righteous Brother’s once-glorious falsetto when Bill Medley, in his first concert since Hatfield died Nov. 8, rendered their hits “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin” minus the man who was his musical other half for 41 years.

Medley, a late substitution after Irene Cara became ill, always carried the lion’s share of the vocals on both songs, yet hearing them without Hatfield’s dovetail harmonies was like watching a master acrobat trying to walk half a tightrope. Rather than having “Colors” linchpin and host Peabo Bryson or high-voiced soft-rocker Christopher Cross step into the vocal gap, Medley wisely let the harmonies go unsung on “Soul and Inspiration,” then allowed the audience to fill in on “Lovin’ Feelin.”

In between, he brought out his 16-year-old daughter, McKenna, to handle the female lines of his 1987 duet with Jennifer Warnes, “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.”

Performers, also including Sheena Easton, interacted warmly on the seasonal material that combined with their signature pop and R&B; hits.

In the end, the transcendent aspect of this year’s show was its celebration of righteous brotherhood.