AMY GRANT DELIGHTS CROWD OF 3,000

Grant and her eight-piece band to the delight of a crowd of about 3,000 at Cape Girardeau's Show Me Center performed her most popular hits, "Every Heartbeat," "Baby, Baby," and "The Next Time I Fall" with effortless precision.

Many in the crowd were likely exhausted at the concert's end, not only because Grant played 21 songs, but because her fans were on their feet dancing throughout the concert.

From the moment the show opened with a thundering, chest-thumping bass drum akin to the beating of a mighty heart, to the encores nearly two hours later, Grant and her band put on a tight, professional show.

And as Grant burst on stage clad in a hot pink blazer over lime green lycra pants (she changed outfits four times), she seemed to charge her fans with energy that prevailed through the night.

But it's ironic that her most popular songs showcase her band's extraordinary talents the least. Some of the less-known songs she performed best displayed the band's funky, R&B chops.

An example was her enormously successful "Baby, Baby." While Grant was off stage, her band laid down layers of funky riffs like a chef would assemble a prize deli sandwich.

With the drummer kicking beneath a thumb-popping bass line, guitarist Jerry McPherson added a layer of staccato syncopation chording that filled the Show Me Center with sound.

As Grant's background vocalists and dancers joined other band members in a choreographed dance step at center stage the entire crowd grooved with music that would rival any traditional R&B group.

As Grant entered the stage, the group kicked into "Baby, Baby," a fashionably simple pop tune that rarely strays from two basic chords.

In other words, the instrumental introduction to her biggest hit in terms of energy, musicianship and just plain fun overshadowed the song itself.

It's interesting that her most popular tune also is her most controversial. Christian leaders have criticized Grant for her romantic play-acting with a young actor in the song's video.

But the vast majority of Grant's songs have a clear, Christian message with only a few vague love songs. Regardless, only a legalistic, uptight prude would walk away from her concert feeling anything but uplifted.

Grant seemed completely at ease, which may attest to the fact that Cape Girardeau was the 79th stop on her 80-city tour.

"If we goof up some things tonight, we'll never get it right," she quipped.

If there were any "goofs" they were well concealed. Her background vocalists are some of the most talented anywhere. Her song "Hats," a Steely Dan-flavored song about role-playing, more than any other song Friday, flaunted the talented vocalists.

Grant and her band flowed easily between funk and dance tunes, ballads, pop, and rock `n' roll. The use of computerized lighting, attractive backdrops, and aerobic dancers also added to the show's professionalism.

Although Grant likely will continue to accommodate her mainstream fans and her pocketbook by recording ambiguous love songs, gospel music still flows freely through her veins.

Opening the show for Grant Friday was Kim Hill, who applied her unique, throaty voice to acoustic folk-inspired songs.

With only a single acoustic guitar and a keyboard backing her, Hill had to rely all the more on her soulful, singing style. The crowd responded enthusiastically to Hill's superb medley that mocked Cher (singing "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves"), Helen Reddy ("I Am Woman"), and Anne Murray ("You Needed Me"), while she related her musical maturation.

She showed her Memphis roots in the bluesy "Talk About Life," and a rock influence with her biggest hit to date, "Snake in the Grass."

Hill's music likely had the greatest appeal for baby-boomers in attendance with their teenage Amy Grant fans. Still, her 30-minute, seven-song set was a nice prelude.