POP MUSIC REVIEW : ‘Hot August’: Winking Yet Loving Hoot

Rarely is the line between affection and irony as fine as it is in “Hot August Phranc,” a tribute of sorts to Neil Diamond by Los Angeles art-folkie Phranc, which opened at Highways on Wednesday with a benefit for the Project 10 support organization for gay and lesbian teens. Done up in full Diamond drag--silver lame shirt, puffy wig, Cuban heels and, yes, even chest hair--the self-described “all-American Jewish lesbian folk singer” mixed love and satire from the opening “Solitary Man” to the on-cue flag-unfurling encore of “America,” her three-piece backing band remarkably approximating Diamond’s Vegasy melodrama throughout.

In truth, affection and irony might be better served if Phranc did the tribute--whose title is a play on Diamond’s 1972 “Hot August Night” live album--in her normal guise, letting her own sweet voice showcase Diamond’s melodic gifts rather than vainly attempting to imitate his distinct vocal mannerisms.

The context already provided plenty of irony in such odes to American womanhood as “Sweet Caroline” and “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon,” and Diamond’s own performances are so over-the-top that he’s a hard act to spoof. But the show was still a winking yet loving hoot, leaving the audience laughing at the Diamond shtick--but also humming his tunes.

“Hot August Phranc” continues at Highways through Sunday.