A
tardy
Mandrell
is
forgiven
by
fans
By
GERALD
KLOSS
of
The
Journal
staff
Barbara
Mandrell's
concert
Satur-
day
night
at
the
Riverside
Theater
was
the
first
one
on
her
new
tour,
"so
we're
all
a
little
nervous
up
here,"
she
confided
to
a
near
sellout
crowd.
Not
so's
you'd
notice,
puddin'
you
did
yourself
proud.
She
did
test
the
patience
of
her
fans
a
little,
though,
not
coming
on
until
9:15
p.m.,
after
a
45-minute
opening
act
by
a
pure-style,
heady-
beat
country
septet
called
the
Whites,
a
20-minute
intermission
and
some
outbursts
of
restless
hand
clap-
ping.
What
could
be
taking
her
so
long?
Then
a
glowing,
1940s-model
jukebox
appeared
at
center
stage,
the
curtain
rose
and
we
saw
the
reason
why:
a
tiered
bandstand
the
width
of
the
stage
with
a
white
stairway
up
the
middle,
like
the
setting
for
a
Busby
Berkeley
Hollywood
musical
of
the
1930s.
And
out
front
was
the
golden-tressed
Mandrell,
in
a
white
blouse
and
pink
tux,
giving
the
works
to
the
title
tune
of
her
new
album,
"I'll
Be
Your
Jukebox
Tonight,"
while
jets
of
smoke
puffed
over
the
multicolored
stage
from
overhead
jets.
Hoo-ee,
it
sure
was
different
from
the
Whites,
all
right.
But
beneath
the
sparkle
and
sophistication,
Mandrell
projected
the
old
country
spirit
in
a
swift
medley
of
her
old
hits,
including
the
inevitable
"I
Was
Country
When
Country
Wasn't
Cool."
It
was
fol-
lowed
by
a
soulful
new
ballad,
"My
Train
of
Thought
Keeps
Going
Back
to
You,"
with
enough
sobbing
guitar
work
to
back
up
a
state
funeral.
The
big
production
number
of
her
first
half
hour
started
with
an
audi-
ence-participation
rendition
of
the
grand
old
anthem,
"You
Are
My
Sun-
shine,"
with
guitar
accompaniment
only.
Then
Mandrell
sprang
out
in
a
skin-tight
white
outfit,
belting
the
lyrics
in
all-out
rock
style,
followed
by
versions
by
her
and
members
of
the
eight-piece
band
in
rap,
rhythm
and
blues,
polka-beat,
and
even
clas-
sical
cantata
style,
before
returning
to
the
audience
again.
It
lasted
a
good
10
minutes,
and
when
it
was
over,
the
crowd
had
more
than
forgiven
the
star
for
turn-
ing
up
so
late.
From
that
point
onward,
it
was
another
Mandrell
tri-
umph,
repeating
her
Riverside
suc-
cesses
of
the
last
two
years.
Another
capacity
crowd
is
expected
for
her
performance
at
8
p.m.
Sunday.