Not only in my dreams: Jenny Corriveau and Debbie Gibson

Debbie Gibson’s Winterlicious concert at Viejas Casino & Resort in Alpine was an early Christmas gift bestowed to local “Deb Heads” on Thanksgiving weekend. “That’s Debbie’s name for her core group of fans,” Jenny Corriveau told me outside the Oak Ballroom, where the concert was held. “I have been a fan since ’87. She is the soundtrack of my life. Damn it, I’m going to cry.” Corriveau showed me a photo she’d taken a few minutes prior with Gibson at the VIP meet and greet. “If 40 people stand outside the door, she will talk to, sign for, and hug every single person.”

A VIP ticket, which allowed attendees to sit close to the stage and enjoy a meet-and-greet with the bubblegum pop songstress, cost about $200. Regular tickets, like the one I purchased for a spot near the venue’s rear, ran $30. Parking was free. The Saturday event was Corriveau’s fifteenth Debbie Gibson concert. While she was talking to me, she realized that her fellow Deb Heads had made their way inside, which cued us to follow. “Tonight, you’re going to see the pure joy with a couple of her hits,” said Corriveau as we walked towards the ballroom, “and songs from Winterlicious, a new album. It’s a holiday album, because it’s got Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s Eve-themed songs.” The LP, Gibson’s eleventh, was released on October 22.

Debbie Gibson live.

Most concertgoers were fellow Gen-Xers. A few people wore throwback attire reminiscent of the ’80s — Madonna-esque garments with lots of holes, or sweaters tied around their necks a la Alex P. Keaton from Family Ties — but most dressed conservatively, many in Christmas colors, with scarves and beanie caps.

Gibson opened with “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen,” wearing a sweater that looked like a Life Savers candy wrapper. After the Christmas intro, Gibson doffed the sweater and revealed a bright green mini dress. “I feel a little Barbarella,” she said into the mic, “I love all of that holiday music...I’ve been waiting to wear this dress for, like, months.” The 52-year-old ’80s icon had the same physique as back in the day, according to a person sitting in my row. “I remember seeing her on MTV, singing ‘Shake Your Love’ while dancing in a convertible oldie car.” Next, Gibson performed “Electric Youth,” hitting the dance moves on cue with her male backup dancers. “They can’t keep up with her,” continued the same person in my row. Then suddenly, one dancer did a back flip as Gibson was singing near the Christmas tree on the left side of the stage. The crowd “oohed” and “aahed” at the display of energy, but stayed seated.

Gibson addressed to crowd to recount the story of her early success — before she even graduated high school. “The rotary phone rang, and my mom was, like, ‘It went number one on the Billboard charts’...and it went a little something like this.” Gibson gently played the piano keys, then sang, “Oh, can’t you see I’m not fooling nobody?” from “Foolish Beat,” off her 1987 Out Of The Blue album. A groupmate walked out with a saxophone in hand and played along with the famous synth-pop jam that got so many ‘80s teens through crushes, puppy love, and breakups. Some in the audience sighed, others sniffled. Gibson made history with the track as the youngest artist to produce, write, and sing a song to top the Billboard Hot 100 list — at 16.

Gibson took a short break and returned to the stage wearing a long black dress. On the jumbo screen on the right side of the stage, a man’s image popped up, and he sang with Gibson. “That’s Debbie’s duet with and tribute to her dad, Joe,” explained Corriveau. “It’s a lovely rendition of ‘White Christmas.’”

The nearly one-and-a-half-hour Winterlicious concert played like a Broadway show, including a few outfit changes, onstage dialogue, soliloquies, and even props. At one point, all the performers left the stage, and a team carried out a king-size bed. Then the musicians, backup dancers, and singers got onto the bed and surrounded Gibson. “Welcome to our slumber party,” she said. Everyone on the bed wore pajamas and sang “Christmas Dreams” (with a country twang), a song from her new album.

One of the last songs performed was “Cheers.” “Her mother died earlier this year, and ‘Cheers’ is a tribute to her,” Corriveau said. As Gibson sang, people stood and held their drinks up in the air. “Here’s to the end and the beginning,” Gibson sang. “What a year. Cheers!”