Lisa Gerrard

Lisa Gerrard has stepped into a storm, composing the score for Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of Christ." Early screenings of the film, centering on the final 12 hours of Jesus' life, have raised concerns among Jewish leaders over potential anti-Semitic interpretations, and stirred debate among theologians about Gibson's sources and motivations.

FUNNY that even after 25-plus years of Lisa Gerrard's musical evolution through Dead Can Dance, her solo recordings and major film-score projects, some fans still showed up at her Orpheum Theatre concert Tuesday dressed in goth black -- one gent bearing the stovepipe hat and tails of a Victorian mortician. Gerrard herself, perched on a cloud of white cloth covering the stage, was, in contrast, full of light and life. Or lives, as she seemed to embody multiple entities.

FUNNY that even after 25-plus years of Lisa Gerrard's musical evolution through Dead Can Dance, her solo recordings and major film-score projects, some fans still showed up at her Orpheum Theatre concert Tuesday dressed in goth black -- one gent bearing the stovepipe hat and tails of a Victorian mortician. Gerrard herself, perched on a cloud of white cloth covering the stage, was, in contrast, full of light and life. Or lives, as she seemed to embody multiple entities.

"IS this working OK?" says musician Lisa Gerrard, wondering if the conversation she's been having makes any sense. "I feel I can never make it work in interviews. I feel like I've just been rambling." She has covered a lot of ground in discussing the reunion of Dead Can Dance, her partnership with Brendan Perry from the early 1980s until their rancorous split in the late '90s.

"IS this working OK?" says musician Lisa Gerrard, wondering if the conversation she's been having makes any sense. "I feel I can never make it work in interviews. I feel like I've just been rambling." She has covered a lot of ground in discussing the reunion of Dead Can Dance, her partnership with Brendan Perry from the early 1980s until their rancorous split in the late '90s.

*** Dead Can Dance, "Into the Labyrinth," 4AD. The Irish-Australian duo molds Gregorian mantras with Bulgarian folk and traditional Celtic, but unlike its previous four albums, the eclectic blend is accessible. The expansion into bolder Middle Eastern and African rhythms breathes life into the dark, gothic ballads, and Lisa Gerrard's eerily crystalline vocals send shivers through this hybrid strain of ancient melodies and modern spiritualism.

Best Movie, Drama "GLADIATOR" Best Movie, Musical or Comedy "ALMOST FAMOUS" Best Actor, Drama Tom Hanks "CAST AWAY" Best Actress, Drama Julia Roberts "ERIN BROCKOVICH" Best Actor, Musical or Comedy George Clooney "O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?"

Pop Music After 14 years of performing with Lisa Gerrard in Dead Can Dance, singer-musician Brendan Perry steps into the solo spotlight. Also on the bill: Kristin Hersh. * El Rey Theatre, 5515 Wilshire Blvd. (323) 936-4790. 8 p.m. Jazz The Jumpin' Joz Band kicks off three nights of swing dancing, culminating with a dance contest Sunday to the music of Steven Mitchell's Hollywood Hepkats. * Harvest Moon Swing Out Dance, Pasadena Center, Conference Hall, 300 E. Green St. (626) 799-5689. 7 p.m.

One doesn't normally consider the medieval and the Middle Eastern in the same musical breath. But then, the group Dead Can Dance is fairly breathless--no pun intended--in throwing incongruous styles into its stew, with chants and caterwauling foremost among the extreme exoticism. So the duo's sold-out appearance on Monday tended to alternately turn Royce Hall into a Celtic cathedral or a frantic desert bazaar.

Family members of Brian Epstein are upset over repeated references to the late Beatles manager's 1967 death as a suicide, as has been stated in connection with promotion and coverage of A&E's airing of a documentary on him. The death was ruled an accidental overdose of prescription medication. . . . Dead Can Dance's airy music, influenced by medieval and world sounds, seems an odd match for a story about investigations of the tobacco industry.

Lisa Gerrard has stepped into a storm, composing the score for Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of Christ." Early screenings of the film, centering on the final 12 hours of Jesus' life, have raised concerns among Jewish leaders over potential anti-Semitic interpretations, and stirred debate among theologians about Gibson's sources and motivations.