Karen and Richard Carpenter anecdotes part of tribute show

Mark Brett remembers his future wife, Michelle Berting Brett, calling his bluff when he claimed to love The Carpenters, thinking he just said that to get on her good side: “Do you have a Carpenters record sandwiched in between your Stones and Zeppelin and Floyd?”

“Yes I do,” he replied, and “opened one of the many boxes of albums I had in the cellar and pulled it right out.”

The 30 years since Karen Carpenter died have liberated our once-hidden vinyl. Enduring interest in soft-pop siblings Karen and Richard has kept the Canadian couple’s “We’ve Only Just Begun: Carpenters Remembered” tribute on the road for five years, including this weekend’s return invitation to the Suncoast.

It’s cabaret-style format weaving in anecdotes about The Carpenters, not a costumed “Legends”-style tribute.

“For me it’s all about the music. These songs, they’re embedded in our DNA,” Michelle says of hits such as “We’ve Only Just Begun” and “Close to You.” “Every little flute solo and all those background vocals. For me it’s all about re-creating that songbook as authentically as possible.”

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.