Skaters and friends please crowd at Pepsi

First published: Wednesday, October 26, 2005 ALBANY -- No, thankfully, Kenny Rogers did not strap on ice skates at the Pepsi Arena on Tuesday night.

Unfortunately, neither did Kristi Yamaguchi.

As it turns out, the 34-year-old Yamaguchi is eight months pregnant, so despite the long-running advertising campaign that prominently featured a photo of the 1992 gold medal winner from the Albertville Winter Olympics spinning around on the ice, any expectations of seeing her execute a triple lutz at the Pepsi Arena was pretty much out of the question. Instead, she stood on the sidelines, introducing the skaters.

Consequently, "Kristi Yamaguchi Friends and Family" at the Pepsi Arena on Tuesday night fell short of any of the advertised expectations.

Way short.

Perhaps "false advertising" short.

On the other hand, the ice-show-meets-mini-concert had a low-expectation excitement that you might expect from a figure skating extravaganza.

Then pile on the fact that the show wasn't really a live ice performance, as much as it was an event being filmed for television broadcast later in the year.

All of which might have been forgivable if the top ticket price wasn't $56 plus handling charges.

Still, the crowd that more than half-filled the arena seemed genuinely excited by the skating of Nancy Kerrigan, Ekaterina Gordeeva, Ilia Kulik and others, who glided across the ice as their families sat and applauded. After all, the show was all about family: The skaters frequently capped their routines by snagging their kids from the seats and holding them aloft as they skated off.

There was some fine skating, of course, including powerful solos by '98 gold medalist Kulik (to a live performance of "Lady" by Kenny Rogers) and Jozef Sabovcik (to a recording of Bruce Springsteen's "Meet Me at Mary's Place"). Both managed to combine gracefulness with athleticism. Scott Hamilton and Todd Browning both infused a healthy dose of humor in their skating clown routines.

But the biggest crowd pleaser of the night was two-time gold medalist Ekaterina Gordeeva's delightful and heartwarming duet with her daughter, Daria Grinkova.

As for Rogers' performance, he and his seven-piece band only sang five songs throughout the evening, opening with "Islands in the Stream" and closing with a medley of "Through the Years/You Decorated My Life/She Believes in Me." He also offered "Lady," "You Are So Beautiful" and a solid new ballad "I Can't Unlove You," from his upcoming album.

At the end of the two-hour performance, Hamilton asked the crowd, "So how was that?" The applause was thundering -- and nearly all of the fans dutifully stayed for an extra half-hour as several skaters did retakes of their routines for the TV show.

Greg Haymes can be reached 454-5742 or by e-mail at ghaymes@timesunion.com.

ICE SHOW

"KRISTI YAMAGUCHI FRIENDS AND FAMILY"

Hosted by Kristi Yamaguchi and Scott Hamilton, with Kenny Rogers, Nancy Kerrigan, Kurt Browning, Ekaterina Gordeeva, Daria Grinkova, more

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Pepsi Arena, 51 S. Pearl St., Albany

The crowd: It was a family crowd, filling a bit more than the downstairs level of the arena.

Highlights: Kulik's romantic routine skated to Rogers' "Lady" was the night's best blending of music and skating.