In These Parts, Oldies Are the Real Draw

Southern California’s romance with Depeche Mode resumes this week as the band in black kicks off a series of five arena shows in the area with a performance Tuesday night at the Cox Arena in San Diego. But where’s the love when it comes to ‘90s rock bands? When Depeche Mode hit it big in the ‘80s, no U.S. market embraced the British group’s live shows more than this one, and these days the band remains among the numerous veteran rock acts that are sure-fire concert bets for arena-size venues, a group that includes Eric Clapton, Elton John, Aerosmith, R.E.M. and Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, not to mention U2, the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen. But the list of ‘90s bands who have the fan base or catalog depth to steadily pack in big crowds is far shorter, with Pearl Jam, the Dave Matthews Band and Phish at the top. “It’s hard to think of many others,” says Gary Bongiovanni, editor of Pollstar, the concert industry trade publication. “There are a lot of people in the concert business concerned that the acts breaking in during the ‘90s haven’t shown a lot of career longevity. Much of the attention in the music industry these days is on flavor-of-the-month bands, which works fine for radio and the record companies. But [the concert industry] works on building fan loyalty.” The Depeche Mode shows continue Friday and Saturday at the Great Western Forum before finishing up Sunday and Dec. 22 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim.

Will NBC Ask for an Encore?

It sounded like such a good idea at the time: multitalented star Nathan Lane teaming with the producers of “Frasier” on a new NBC comedy. The network agreed to 13 episodes virtually sight unseen and promised the show a Tuesday or Thursday time slot. Soon, however, things began to unravel, with the producers making last-minute cast changes and the pilot getting a cool reception from TV critics. Pulled after just four low-rated telecasts, “Encore! Encore!” returns this week at a new time, airing at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. Featuring Lane as a womanizing opera singer forced, after losing his voice, to take refuge at the family vineyard, the show will finish shooting the first 13 episodes this week, meaning NBC must decide soon if production should continue. Sources say if the series doesn’t exhibit ratings life the first two weeks, it’s a goner.

Warners Hopes Its ‘Mail’ Will Deliver

It’s been another modest year at the box office for Warner Bros., but 1998 could end on a pleasant note for the Burbank-based studio with this week’s arrival of “You’ve Got Mail,” a romantic comedy reuniting “Sleepless in Seattle” stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. “It remains to be seen what box-office grosses it will do, but on paper it’s a can’t- miss proposition,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. As of Friday, Warner Bros. had released 24 films during the year, taking in $608 million in North America to rank No. 5 in market share among all Hollywood studios. Leading the pack is Paramount Pictures with $1.034 billion, followed by Disney with $986.5 million, 20th Century Fox with $729 million and Sony Pictures Entertainment with $713 million. Warner Bros.is counting on “You’ve Got Mail” and “Jack Frost,” starring Michael Keaton, to build momentum going into 1999. Opening this past weekend, “Jack Frost” grossed an estimated $7 million to rank third.

Morning Report will continue Tuesday through Saturday.

--Compiled by Times staff writers