Millie Jackson

 At the 20

Grand,October9-I2

    The crowds swelled to the walls a full house tor Millie Jackson's first 20 Grand appearance last weekend, and the popular mini-play wright of black pop music gave them everything they came out tor plus some. While not a spectacular singer per se, Ms, Jackson has developed her unique thematic approach and her well-integrated stage act into a bombshell night club show.

    Backed by a tight, hand-picked east-coast rhythm section and a Detroit horn choir. Millie worked both sides of the betrayed wife/double-crossed mistress persona she has invented lo such advantage on her albums "Caught Up"and "Still Caught Up" (Spring/Polydor), which have been heralded ,is "the first r&b concept albums" sort of a "Sgt. Pepper Meets the Ghetto" approach to rhythm & blues.

     The climax of her on-stage melodrama had the bereft mistress or was it the estranged wife? -slowly losing her mind from grief over the loss of her mystical, fantastic, all-desirable male friend (who came in for his share of knocks in the telling, though, believe me). As she repeated the same chorus over and over, growing visibly more distraught by the moment, two men in white jackets emerged from the backstage door with a strait jacket. Ms. Jackson fought mightily but was finally restrained and carried off stage, where she continued flailing and kicking could be heard as the band played on.

    A masterful piece of pop theatre. the psychodramatic aspects of the show almost make up for the melodramatic vacuity of the story line, which hopefully Millie will soon be able to put away. In fact, she told us before the show, her next LP will be something different altogether, and if audience acceptance of the new Millie approaches that of her present personae she should , emerge as a crossover vocalist of considerable potential. But catch the soap opera act if you can-it's a knockout!

                   --JS