The San Diego Union-Tribune April 27, 1988, Wednesday O'Connor's act uneven By Divina Infusino Terence Trent D'Arby may be the hottest new artist of the past six months. But close behind him is Sinead O'Connor, a 21-year-old Irish singer-songwriter who shot into the Top 40 this month with her debut album, "The Lion and the Cobra." Unlike D'Arby, who benefited from extensive promotion by his record company and a string of hits in England, O'Connor was a dark-horse candidate for the big time. After all, who would have thought that a big-eyed, bald-headed lass with romantically obsessive songs and a voice that could wail like a banshee would capture the public's imagination? But amid the tortured diatribes to ex-lovers, her record also contained lilting Celtic-styled tunes, folk songs, a catchy toe-tapper "Mandinka," and a fierce sense of artistic independence. The combination made her a fast favorite of alternative rock and college radio stations, where acts like The Cure, The Smiths and New Order began their ascent into the pop mainstream. So it wasn't surprising that her Southern California concert debut at the Wiltern Theater on Saturday night was sold out by an adoring crowd of arty types dressed in black, gray and darker shades of pale. What was surprising was the show's uneveness. On the plus side was the singer herself. In a black leotard, short red skating skirt and, of course, her bald head, the singer was sometimes urchin-like in her miniature motions and little girl ways, sometimes tough and punky -- spitting, grabbing herself suggestively, swaying surprisingly muscular arms to the bounce of her music. As a singer, O'Connor was alternately delicate and upbeat or violently passionate and compelling, as on "Jackie" and the closing number, "Troy." Those songs had minimal accompaniment from her band, which ultimately hurt more than helped her. The group performed stilted arrangements with all the zeal of robots. Moreover, there was no stage production at all, not even an occasional echo on O'Connor's voice or enough lights to properly illuminate the stage.