Maria Muldaur & Martin Mull At The Royal Oak Theatre, April 3

Keeping within the curious tradition of staying outside the Eight Mile Road dividing line, the white suburbs now have their very oqn 2000-seat concert palladium, the Royal Oak Theatre, brought to them by Lansing promoter Paul Stanley. In this large, plush movie theatre singer Maria Muldaur and jokester Martin Mull entertained two close-to-sold-out audiences who felt comfortable and secure in not having to leave their suburban milieu tor the "uncertainties" of the-city.

It's hard to say whether the audience came to sec Maria or Martin, although Marty seems to have cultivated fans who are noisier and much much more vocal than most. Mull, surrounded by his ever-present collection of tacky furniture, is one of the best of the singer-comedians to hit this town, displaying a tremendous talent for off-the-wall wit, spontaneous humor, and the anti-heckle retort (says Marty to heckler: "I can’t think of anything more fun than to pay $6.50 for a concert and then holler all night.")

Backed by the piano of Ed Wise, Mull sang songs dealing with such pressing questions as health ("Put More Fruit in Your Diet"), Las Vegas ("I haven't the Vegas Idea"), the Polish blues (try playing a guitar backwards), and the ever-popular Bicentennial ("l'm screwed by Auntie Poverty and l'm screwed by Uncle Sam"). Other songs - and most of Marty’s jokes - would be considered obscene or even in poor taste by many folks, but that's more a reflection of their rather dull and rigid sense of humor than anything else. Rather than repeat any of Mull's illustrious ramblings, however, this reviewer suggests that you check him out yourself the next time he's in the area, and give your funnybone a good workout.

Maria Muldaur, one of the most versatile voices in popular music, followed Mull with a warm, well-received set of wide-ranging material from her current album, Sweet Harmony, on Warner Bros. Records. Backed by a capable band of professionals - John Burton, brass; Mike Finnegan, keyboard madman; Michael Moore, bass; Amos Garrett, guitar; the great Earl Palmer, drums; and Ellen Kearney, acoustic guitar and background vocals - Ms. Muldaur shared her exquisite taste with the audience via such vehicles as Hoagy Carmichael's "Old Rockin' Chair," Dolly Parton's "In My Tennessee Mountain Home," Willie Dixon's "That's the Way Love Is," Smokey Robinson's "Sweet Harmony," and a host of gospel-styled and 40's jazz/r&b numbers. She left her followers fully sated with her special brand of pop music, and that's all they wanted to hear.

Coming up at the Royal Oak Theatre: the infantile humorists Cheech & Chong, May 7; and the hot vocal duo Hall & Oates, May 11.

- Sheri Terebelo