The Minnesota State Fair grandstand turned into a Las Vegas lounge Monday night.
Nothing wrong with that if you were up for revisiting the '50s, '60s and '70s with a trio of oldies but goodies. The evening of the Spinners, Little Anthony & the Imperials and the Grass Roots was highly entertaining in a show bizzy kind of way even if the lineup felt a little incongruous.
Having a pop-rock band open for two R&B/pop vocal groups was a bit like having egg rolls as an appetizer before a second course of spaghetti carbonara and an entree of veal scaloppine.
The latest incarnation of the Grass Roots — lead singer Rob Grill died in 2011 and no other original members are involved — was solid harmonizing on '60s classics like "Midnight Confessions."
However, Little Anthony & the Imperials, in matching velvet-and-sequin jackets, were a revelation, late 1950s-60s hitmakers who still know how to deliver with Vegasy panache.
At 80, Jerome Anthony Gourdine still has that supple, high-pitched, reedy, almost girlish voice. Unlike Frankie Valli, Gourdine doesn't rely on lip-syncing in concert. His voice is still the real deal, and he convinced on 1958's "Tears on My Pillow," an animated "Heard It Through the Grapevine" and a rocking tribute to another "Little" — Little Richard — with "Lucille."
In his first gig in 17 months, Gourdine, who received a knee replacement three months ago, seemed to tire a bit in the second half of the 65-minute performance but hammed it up for a closing treatment of the Police's "Every Breath You Take."
Another original member, Ernest Wright, was on board, adding humorous quips while Johnny Britt did a sweet, jazzy reading of "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" complete with his own muted trumpet intro.
