Sheena Easton A Concert Review	Memorial Day, 1995 The MGM Grand Las Vegas, NV A Review by Stu Gotz

Anyway, after two days of $2 Blackjack and gourmet room service I decided to milk MGM for a show. I called down to VIP (what's a VIP anyway?) Services to see what was playing. As it turns out, Sheena Easton was at the hotel/casino. It took a second, but thoughts of a wildcat who hung out with Prince, did Bally's Health Club commercials, and sang "Sugar Walls" raced through my head. Oh baby! I'm there!!!

The night of the show I arrived early. I was excited - this was Sheena Easton - the woman who starred in many of my adolescent fantasies. The thought of her cat call yelp still gives me a rise. I wanted to see her bad. VIP Services set me up that night with 3rd row center - woo hooo!!! The lights dimmed and a curtain went up behind a transparent black screen. The soulful sounds of a single saxophone flowed out from the middle level of a three level stage. To the right - two backup singers, dressed in black, snapped their fingers to the beat of brush on a cymbal. The backup singers began to sing as the band and a third backup, dressed in red and walking down from the top of the stage with her back turned, joined in. As the first song ended, and the next one started, I was puzzled as to where my dream girl was. I took a long hard look at the singer in red. She had strait blonde hair, wide hips, and chubby knees. I was almost sure it wasn't her. Then.... all of my boyhood fantasies came crashing down when the song ended and the woman in red spoke with a Scottish accent.

What happened? Where was the Sheena I once knew? The one who would wail on the conga drums and used to "Strut?" I'll tell you what happened to her - middle age hit her, and hit her hard.

The show lasted about 90 minutes. the accompanying band was tight, but the choreography and stage theatrics were not. This was no Meat Loaf show. Granted, this was only the third of fifteen shows in Vegas, and was by Sheena's own explanation "practice" for a European tour. Sheena's show was further hampered by a desire to tell very bad jokes between songs and share boring details of her life. The majority of her show focused on her new album titled "My Cheri." Her new album is a huge departure from her past style. gone are the blaring electric guitars and high pitched yelps. Present are lonefull sounds of a Les Paul Classic guitar (not that THAT's bad) and a deep husky voice. I think Sheena has been smoking too much and hanging out in trashy Scottish pub's. She did take time to cover her hits, you know, "My Baby Takes the Morning Train," "For Your Eye's Only," and a dismal rendering of "Sugar Walls." According to Sheena, her self- proclaimed new style is jazz based. I'll give her that, but she cannot deny the words to her songs are strictly the blues.

Sheena Easton's music, like her, has matured. I will miss the image of her I once lusted for, and I think I will have a hard time getting used to a new middle aged, chain-smoking, bar-trash, single mother named Sheena Easton. Especially if she insists on telling jokes. No thumbs up - no thumbs down - it's just a shrug for Sheena. I want my Bally's commercials back!!!!!!

'nuff said!