Gagnon’s voices hit and miss at Venetian

Friday, June 8, 2001 | 8:44 a.m.

Was that a great impression of Joe Cocker or was impressionist Andre-Philippe Gagnon in pain when he performed Wednesday at the Venetian Showroom?

Actually, it was a little bit of both.

Gagnon's spokesman, Ryan Brooks, said that two days earlier Gagnon had strained his back picking up a tire and was still hurting.

Knowing that the agile Gagnon was playing injured added some insight into the character of the French-Canadian. He is dedicated to his craft and is willing to play through the pain to please his audience.

Gagnon puts a lot of energy into his performances and Wednesday was no different. Aching back and all, he strutted like Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson and moved his hips like Elvis.

Gagnon, who began performing at the Venetian more than a year ago, may be one of the most talented impressionists in the country -- up there with Frank Gorshin and Rich Little.

Gagnon has more than 400 voices at his command.

He concentrates on about 100 singers during his performances.

Some of the voices did not work, though -- Willie Nelson, for example. Nelson's success is in the feelings he puts into his songs and Gagnon didn't capture that essence -- which was one weakness in an otherwise thoroughly entertaining show.

By cramming so many voices on the stage Gagnon, by necessity, glosses over many of them, and so the audience doesn't get the same grasp of a character that one might get from Gorshin or Little.

Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

What Gagnon does is entertain with clever contrivances that allow him to get his voices out.

The audience loved his spoof of Bill Clinton. Gagnon turned Otis Redding's "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" into "Sitting here on Whitewater Bay."

What could be funnier than "Me and Mrs. Jones," with the name "Paula" slipped into a refrain? Or Barry White as Clinton speaking on the phone to Monica Lewinsky?

A series of commercial jingles sung by various groups was hilarious: the Beatles singing "I Use Grecian Formula" to the tune of "Do You Want to Know a Secret?" and "We All Eat at Mr. Submarines" to "We All Live in a Yellow Submarine."

Gagnon had James Brown pitching Rolaids and Lionel Richie pitching Slim Fast ("Once, Twice, Three Times a Lady") and Cocker selling Prozac.

After the jingles, Gagnon paraded out a number of singers. Among the best of the lot were the Platters (a real crowd pleaser) and Robert Goulet. His Chubby Checker was a little weak.

Gagnon, using the voice of Frank Sinatra, sang a duet with Celine Dion, who was on video. They sang "All the Way." (In 1998 Gagnon opened for Dion on a U.S.-European tour.)

Sinatra was another voice that didn't work, but there were plenty throughout the evening that did -- Tom Jones, Louie Armstrong, Cocker and White, to name just a few.

One of Gagnon's most impressive impressions wasn't even a voice, but a musical instrument. Sounding every bit like a saxophone, he gave a rendition of the "Pink Panther."

The people in the audience spoke in one voice -- they liked it.