Pop Music Reviews : A Fresh Gladys Knight & the Pips at Amphitheatre

Gladys Knight & the Pips, who headlined three shows at the Universal Amphitheatre over the weekend, are a study in contrasts: Knight’s vocal style blends passion and tenderness; her persona mixes classiness and down-home familiarity; and though the group is a pop institution, its concert Friday was contemporary and fresh.

The 44-year-old Knight was at once smoldering and conversational on hits like the mesmerizing “If I Were Your Woman” and the poignant “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me.” The show’s only flaw was the abundance of Las Vegas-style shtick, especially a belabored Michael Jackson impersonation by head Pip Bubba Knight.

Alexander O’Neal, who opened, is a virile R&B; singer in the tradition of Luther Vandross and Freddie Jackson. In fact, O’Neal’s songs--including the sizzling “Fake”--have a harder edge than either of those stars’. But the Minneapolis native overplayed the matinee-idol bit, to the point of having a bed on stage. One Barry White is enough.