Adam Sandler

By ADAM SANDLER

Adam Sandler (Universal Amphitheater; 6,251 seats; $ 38 top)
 
Band: Waddy Wachtel, Bob Glaub, Peddy Castelucci, Mike Thompson, Dan Heppington, Mindy Abair, Sonetta Gibson, Kim Schwartz, John Rosenberg.
 

TX:Promoted by MCA Concerts. Reviewed July 14, 1996. Adam Sandler is moronic, sophomoric and crude. And very funny. He also can rock and did just that Sunday at the Universal Amphitheater, serving up nearly two hours of his trademark musical ditties that were given considerable life by a backing band comprised of some of the industry's top session players. Anyone who has heard tracks from Sandler's two Warner Bros. discs know there are no sublime witticisms in his repertoire, nor are there any well-crafted observations of human nature, as is the stock in trade of most comics working the college and/or club circuit.

TX:Sandler -- no relation to this reviewer -- closed his 21-city roadshow with Sunday's stop, which was laden with celebrities and industry execs.

At the show, he offered profanity-filled, high-volume tunes that cover a variety of topics but are always rooted in his middle-class upbringing. And all are buoyed by his well-honed comedic timing.

His stage set reflected those home-grown roots: It looked like a suburban backyard, complete with tiki torches, chairs and a poolhouse. Sandler occasionally retreated into the latter to have often-funny conversations with his "mom" as the setup for the next tune, such as his recollections about his favorite hooded red sweatshirt or a new tune about Halloween.

Sandler, whose gravelly vocals often sound like Bruce Willis singing at a Planet Hollywood opening jam session, drew from his multiplatinum debut "They're All Gonna Laugh at You" and his current Warner Bros. Records offering, "What the Hell Happened to Me."

Highlights included the Hanukkah song and a blistering working of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On."