Osbourne projects independence at Huntridge

Spencer Patterson

Monday, April 14, 2003 | 8:43 a.m.

When: Friday.

Where: Huntridge Theatre.

Rating (out of 5 stars): ***

After watching Kelly Osbourne's every move on television for two years, fans probably thought they had the 18-year-old star of "The Osbournes" completely figured out.

So imagine their astonishment when Osbourne arrived onstage at the Huntridge Theatre sporting a tall, spiked blond Mohawk, instead of the shaggy locks that usually hide much of her face.

Kelly's new 'do proved to be just the first of several unexpected developments Friday night, when a crowd of about 500 took in Osbourne's first Las Vegas concert.

One surprise was the quality of Osbourne's voice, the subject of much ridicule from critics who claim Osbourne would not be on her musical fast track were it not for her high-profile family.

That's probably an accurate assessment, but Osbourne's singing also isn't as bad as some would have you believe. While hardly memorable, her voice was strong enough to carry this show, even without the production assistance it received on last year's debut album, "Shut Up."

More shocking was Osbourne's demeanor. Generally moody and dour in the home life setting of MTV's weekly serial, she instead appeared enthusiastic and upbeat, to the delight of her supportive audience.

Although the venue was filled to less than half capacity, Osbourne seemed bent on making sure those in attendance had a good time. Smiling broadly throughout, she regularly interacted with the crowd, most of which bunched close to the barricade just in front of the stage.

"Girls are so catty," she proclaimed giddily as female fans jostled for position as Osbourne took a break to sign autographs.

Often appearing as a selfish brat on TV, Osbourne showed concern for the safety of a handicapped fan.

"You guys be careful. There's someone up here in a wheelchair, so back up," she announced at one point.

Osbourne even managed to avoid profanity -- a trademark of the popular television show -- until the show's final moments, when she disclosed she had a "(expletive) headache" after a long day at New York-New York.

Spirited as it may have been, however, Osbourne's 50-minute set was hardly a musical masterpiece.

Sporadic bursts of unintended feedback marred her vocals. And while her four-piece backing band performed competently, the musicians did little to distinguish themselves from the hordes of punk rock wanna-bes on the scene today.

Osbourne drew mainly from her first disc, playing 11 of its 12 tracks, including first single "Shut Up." She also took a stab at Corey Hart's 1984 hit "Sunglasses at Night," which was mostly successful, even if many in attendance were too young to recognize it.

Osbourne introduced "Too Much of You" as an ode to masturbation, and dedicated her lone ballad, "More Than Life Itself," to her mother, Sharon.

"I wrote this for my mom when I found out she had cancer," Osbourne said. "She's cancer free now."

Osbourne also debuted a still nameless new song that showed some promise, sounding less generic than most of her other songs.

The night's first surprise actually came even before Osbourne's arrival. Scheduled opening act Har Mar Superstar failed to show, reportedly because of traffic during his drive in from Southern Califonia.

In place of the self-proclaimed comedic "genius" -- who earned a frosty reception while opening for the Strokes at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay last year -- a scrambling Huntridge staff brought in local act the Displaced.

The trio, who recently moved to town from San Diego, made the most of its unexpected opportunity. Sounding a lot like seminal modern rock outfit the Pixies, the Displaced served notice it could be a major new force in the Las Vegas music scene.

To close the evening, Osbourne gave fans a final unexpected wrinkle, with an announcement that she doesn't believe in encores.

"I don't like encores because I think they're cheesy," she said. "Bands only do them because they want you to scream for them."

Instead, Osbourne invited a dozen or so of her youngest fans onstage to sing and dance along during her final number, Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach." Osbourne even held a girl around 6 years old in her arms for most of the opening verse.

The moment -- quite unlike anything her father, Ozzy, has done over the years -- demonstrated that Osbourne is at least attempting to develop a style of her own.

And it showed that she might be growing up a lot faster that you might think just by watching "The Osbournes."