DATE: Saturday, August 16, 1997             TAG: 9708160050

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E5   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: CONCERT REVIEW 

SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   58 lines

REBA IS IN GOOD VOICE BUT LEAVES THE GIMMICKRY BEHIND THIS TIME

IF YOU HAVE never seen Reba McEntire in concert, you would have enjoyed Thursday's show at Hampton Coliseum; if you have seen her before, you might have been disappointed.

She got back to the basics - concentrating on the singing, eliminating the gimmickry.

But, doggone, we loved the gimmickry. It's one of the things that set her apart from so many other performers.

Last year she changed costumes about 15 times. This year, three. Last year there were dancing girls and guys. This year, nary a tapster in sight.

The '97 Reba show offered no catapults, taxis or airplanes. It offered walking and singing, walking and singing.

For good reason. She was injured on the ski slopes in December and still can't get around too well. So the fans happily settled for a back-to-the-basics Reba.

We did get Linda Davis again this year, another duet with the boss on the lovely, soap opera-ish ``Does He Love You?'' After that, though, it was - sit down, Linda. In the past, she had a couple of songs on her own.

Another complaint: Several of the songs were abbreviated. Still another complaint: Several Reba hits weren't played at all. ``Little Rock,'' for instance, stayed in Arkansas.

``She was awesome,'' one fan noted, ``but not as awesome as last year.''

As another customer put it, ``Last year we got a Broadway show. This year, we got a concert.''

On the plus side, the concert spotlighted Reba's lovely, distinctive voice. She can still sell a song.

The sale price this year was about $45, or the price of a Broadway matinee. It didn't deter fans, though. The coliseum was packed.

Brooks & Dunn helped pack 'em in. There was a lot of ballyhoo about the duo and Reba performing together. The three opened the show, about 30 seconds of togetherness.

The trio closed the show with two songs that served as the highlights of the night.

Ronnie Dunn's powerhouse voice blended beautifully with Reba as they sang the bejabbers out of the oldie ``You Don't Know Me.'' That was followed by the song about the cotton fields down south, Reba working well with Kix Brooks.

The B&D audience favorites seemed to be ``My Maria,'' ``Neon Moon,'' and ``Boot Scootin' Boogie.''

The Brooks & Dunn segment, however, was marred by a bad - make that terrible - sound system. Sound check, please.

The concert was in-the-round, with a runway off to one side, a nice setup that gave most of the folks a chance to see what was going on, most of the time.

The lighting effects were impressive during the three-hour, intermission-less show. If you had to make a bathroom run, you missed something. The concessionaires probably missed a few bucks. ILLUSTRATION: Reba McEntire performed Thursday with Brooks & Dunn,

whose segment was marred by sound problems.

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