Hammerjacks

THEATER'Servant of Two Masters'Center Stage's anything-but-subtle approach to "Servant of Two Masters" elicits 20th century belly laughs from Carlo Goldoni's 18th century script. Under the direction of Irene Lewis, the production proves a delightful vehicle for one of the theater's favorite clowns, Robert Dorfman. The final performances of the run are at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. today and at 2 p.m. tomorrow, at Center Stage, 700 N. Calvert St. Tickets are $10-$35. For information, call (410) 332-0033.

Steeltown, the Dundalk entertainment complex that was shuttered after bankruptcy proceedings earlier this year, has reopened with new management, new features and a new approach to the Baltimore music market."

The "Weird Al" Yankovic concert originally scheduled for Hammerjacks last nigth was canceled, due to what the venue described as a "lack of market interest."Specifically, less than 100 tickets had been sold by Wednesday morning. Hammerjacks spokesman Bud Becker felt this was less a reflection of Yankovic's popularity than of the fact that the show went on sale just before the July 4 weekend and many "Weird Al" fans were unaware of the booking.Refunds for ticket holders will be available at point of purchase.

While the rest of the world was preparing its Top 10 lists for 1991 we were trying to recall the best local live pop and rock shows of the calendar year.And to show how hard it was to find the elusive answers, we had to limit the list to the Top 5. After all, it was a pretty limited year musically.Here are the painstaking results as this critic sees them:1. INXS at the Capital Centre (March 1) -- The best band in the world at what they do. The fusion of brass, rhythm and boom mixed with the undeniable sexuality of front man Michael Hutchence made this show something special.

While some rock bands are singing the holiday blues this Christmas season, Kix singer Steve Whiteman says he's perfectly content to be resting comfortably at home awaiting a pair of upcoming shows, especially Tuesday's New Year's Eve show at Hammerjacks.For many bands in Kix's genre, the passing of 1991 won't come a minute too soon.It was, according to most promoters and bands, the worst concert year in history."Everybody is just waiting for the situation to get better," said Whiteman, whose band has been doing national club touring in support of its latest album, "Hot Wire."

Steeltown, the Dundalk entertainment complex that opened with a great deal of fanfare last May, has closed its doors.The club at 2401 North Point Blvd., which filed for bankruptcy in August and a month later scaled back its ambitious plans for regular bookings of nationally known acts, closed for business Saturday night."The income just wasn't there," general manager Larry Milburn said yesterday. "At this juncture, [the club is] better off being closed."Mr. Milburn, who said he was owed money by the club, said there was a possibility a new investor might come forward to reopen the facility but said he could not provide any details.

Being unique seems to come naturally for guitarist Brian Rice and his rock band Monkeyspank.They own and drive to gigs in a big gray bus they call "Reginald." They enlist an expanded rhythm section consisting of three drummers and two bass players. And, perhaps, the biggest difference (at least for a Baltimore band), it appears that Monkeyspank might get a shot at the big time in 1992."Some people start a band and the main thing they want to become is local heroes," said Rice, whose band will perform at Hammerjacks tomorrow night during a record release party.

Louis J. Principio Jr., a founder of Hammerjacks, the South Baltimore nightclub and concert hall, died at St. Agnes Hospital Tuesday of cancer. He was 67 and lived on Oakland Terrace Road in Arbutus.A mass of Christian burial for Mr. Principio will be offered at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow at the Roman Catholic Church of the Ascension, Potomac and Poplar avenues in Halethorpe.A native Baltimorean, he became a partner in the business, which now concentrates on concerts in its building at 1101 S. Howard St., when it opened as a tavern on South Charles Street in the late 1970s.

Sequels in rock and roll are generally about as successful as they are in movies -- which is to say, not very.But Big Audio Dynamite II, the recently reconfigured version of Mick Jones' rock and hip-hop band, which played Hammerjacks over the weekend, is one of the happy exceptions. Indeed, if Saturday's show is any indication, this version of the band may actually be better than the original.It wasn't an especially dramatic difference. There were as many musicians onstage Saturday as there were when the group last played Hammerjacks, and B.A.D.