Puff Daddy Showcases His Power

------------------------------------------- Concert review

Puff Daddy and the Family World Tour, Saturday night, Tacoma Dome. -------------------------------------------

TACOMA - Puff Daddy's larger-than-life reputation demanded that everything about his show Saturday night at the Tacoma Dome be over the top. To this end, he was successful.

Every performer was a walking blaxploitation flick with his/her own hit theme song, every other word a memorial to the Notorious B.I.G. But in the process of striving to give his adoring fans all the sparks and glitz they could handle, Puff Daddy and the Family forgot to include a soul.

Puff Daddy brings back the party flavor that drove the early days of rap, but there's not much more. He's the quintessential playa; he might not have the lyrics, but he's got the style. Bad Boy performers are not so much artists as status symbols.

Puff Daddy and the Family is what hip-hop has become. And the show rolls the best and worst of the genre into a big-budget theme-park ride.

For 3 1/2 hours, Puff Daddy and his opening acts Usher and Busta Rhymes gave the audience what it wanted: loads of sexual innuendo and bare-chested men, audience involvement through screaming contests and glitzy posthumous performances honoring the Notorious B.I.G.

After Kid Capri opened with his turntable acrobatics, Usher took the stage. He was more concerned with pumping up the crowd than singing. To this end, he took off his shirt and sang a few bars of "You Make Me Wanna" and two other songs to work the ladies into a frenzy before leaving the stage. Busta Rhymes packed more performance into his time, but even he lacked the humor and energy he usually brings to a show.

After a 30-minute intermission, Puff Daddy's set opened with a montage of video clips zipping past as Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" blasted in the background. The music was supposed to set the tone for the evening's epic entertainment. It's also been used to death.

Dancers grooved to a Puffed-up version of Isaac Hayes' "Theme from `Shaft," then Puff opened with a high-energy rendition of "Victory," highlighted by the boom of fiery explosions.

The pyrotechnics and an ever-present squad of dancers pumping away masked Puff's feeble footwork. Similar theatrics helped electrify the performance of "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down." No one seemed to miss Mase, who along with Foxy Brown was a no-show.

The hip-hop soul quartet 112 followed with a few ballads, then Lil' Kim pumped up the temperature again when she rolled onstage in a heart-shaped bed to "Big Momma Thang" and "Queen B@#$H."

Lil' Kim's set could have been a highlight of the show, but it was marred by the first of the evening's low points, an unnecessary segment where rapper Stevie J led the men in the audience in an misogynistic chant. Lil' Kim returned, armed with a comeback for the ladies as an intro to "No Time" with Lil' Cease.

Puff Daddy was quick to dismiss the whole thing as a big joke, adding that he had nothing but "mad respect" for the ladies. Of course, he had demonstrated that early in the show by nuzzling his face between a woman's thighs while she lay prone.

Numerous mentions of Notorious B.I.G. were sprinkled throughout the show. Thanks to video technology, Puff and the Family accompanied footage of the slain rapper performing several hits.

Instead of being heartfelt, however, this grandiose staging made these moments seem like just another special effect, as inspiring as the sparks raining down from the ceiling. Perhaps that's what happens when you eulogize someone over and over again as part of a world tour.

But in the end, disregarding all the analysis and jaded opinions, the fans loved it. When the lights came up, there was no question that, in the rap world, Puff has the power. It's all about the Benjamins, kids - and a lot of sparks and fire.