RITCHIE VALENS ‘TRIBUTE’ : SAME OLDIE SONGS AT FETE

La Bamba or La Bomb -a?

You had to wonder beforehand whether Saturday night’s “Tribute to the Legend of Ritchie Valens” at Burbank’s Starlight Amphitheatre was a legitimate salute to a local hero or a shameless ride on the coattails of a hit movie.

After all, the print ads for the show featured the names of Lou Diamond Phillips, the actor who played Valens in the film, and Valens’ original record producer Bob Keane in bigger type than that of Valens himself. And, of course, the whole thing was called “La Bamba ‘87,” which happens to be the title of Keane’s recently released revised version of the Valens hit.

Anybody expecting a moving or unique celebration of Valens--the Pacoima teen-ager who, 28 years after his death in a plane crash, is being lifted to superstar status in rock because of the film’s success--would have been disappointed.

Except for fleeting mentions, the evening was little more than the standard minor-league oldies package show, the kind that have been staged hundreds of times around the country in recent years.

On one hand, it was refreshing that the promoters or audience didn’t try to turn the evening into some sort of ghoulish eulogy. But the “La Bamba” tie-in turned out to be something of a washout.

The roles of both Keane and Phillips in the three hour-plus show were relatively minor. The former started things by reminiscing about Valens, then--playing clarinet--led an 11-piece swing band through a ‘30s jump tune before bringing out his latest discovery, Mexican pop singer Martin Vasquez, for loungey versions of Valens’ hits.

Phillips, who neither sings nor plays guitar, then chatted briefly about the movie--and responded to the shrieks of star-smitten teen-age girls. After that, the stage was turned over to the doo-wop likes of the Platters, the Coasters and the Penguins--acts who were promoted here as “stars of the La Bamba era.”

Nonetheless, the estimated 2,000 fans in the 6,000-capacity outdoor facility (which is resuming regular concert activity after an eight-year lay-off) seemed quite pleased by the lineup. In fact, more people seemed attracted by the ‘50s groups than the movie connection. Lomita resident Paul Roberts, 36, said he hadn’t even seen the movie.

Even audience member Brian Setzer, the former Stray Cat who played rocker Eddie Cochran in “La Bamba,” said he would have been interested in the evening’s lineup whether or not it had any relationship to the movie. “My folks were in town and I thought it would be fun to see these great doo-wop groups,” he said, sitting with his parents, wife and baby.

But some fans--mostly teeny-boppers--were clearly lured by the excitement surrounding the film. “If it hadn’t said Lou Diamond Phillips would be here, we wouldn’t have come,” said Nickie McKeehan, 13, La Crescenta. She was at the concert with three friends, each of whom had seen the movie at least four times.

Musically, the show would have benefited from more selectivity. Memories may last forever but voices don’t. Some of the singers have simply lost power and range--and some were just going through the motions. Even so, most of the eight non-”La Bamba”-related acts (none of the groups still feature the full, original lineups) made it through their 15-20 minute sets without embarrassing themselves, usually getting the biggest reponses for songs recently tied to movies or TV commercials (the Platters’ “Only You,” the Rivingtons’ “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow”).

And when acts like the Tokens (“The Lion Sleeps Tonight”), Penguins (“Earth Angel”) and the Coasters (“Yakety Yak”) took over near the end, the music actually approached the lively spirit that inspired Valens in the first place.