Gina Marie
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
Enrique, anytime
It's been only six months since his last show, but the crowd still loves the Latin pop star
T'CHA DUNLEVY
The Gazette
Wednesday, September 04, 2002
Heartthrob Enrique Iglesias performs on stage at the Molson Centre last night before 7,100 adoring fans.
Can you say 'Girls' night out?' Less than six months after his last performance in Montreal, Latin-pop heartthrob Enrique Iglesias made another stop at the Molson Centre last night, to the delight of 7,100 screaming fans.
The cheers erupted in almost perfect synchronicity with the pre-concert blackout. Lit from behind, his 10-piece band struck poses behind sheer white curtains.
"There he is!" shouted someone nearby, and Iglesias was still nowhere in sight.
All-Purpose Shrieking
They shrieked when he finally appeared. They shrieked for the first notes of the song, Love 4 Fun. They shrieked when his face appeared on the big screen behind him. They shrieked when he bent his knees, with purposeful emotive intensity. They shrieked just to hear themselves shriek.
And then they shrieked some more.
In the clubby Love to See You Cry, the second song of the night, he dropped to to the floor. Before long, he was writhing about on his back. Iglesias is no fool; he knows that beyond his boyish good looks and his soul-baring songs, it's all about the act. Or, should we say, The Act.
And he's got it down. Singing almost all songs from last year's Escape album and 1999's Enrique, his English-language debut, Iglesias showed how a simple formula can build a fiercely devoted fan base.
Almost every woman present knew the words to almost every song. When he asked them to rise, they rose; when he asked them to clap, they clapped; when he asked them to sing, they sang.
Breaks With Script
If some segments were a little too familiar to those who saw his show in March, no one seemed to mind. Case in point: Can I Have This Kiss, in which Iglesias played out a seduction scenario with a female backup singer, laying her on her back, legs spread apart and leaning in, with feeling, as the lights went out at song's end.
Shrieks all around.
He did break with the script during a brief acoustic set, in which he introduced a couple of songs from his upcoming Spanish album, Experiencia, due in stores Sept. 17. Offering to sing anything the crowd wanted, he and his two guitarists broke into an acoustic version of his hit Be With You, which the band reprised in the encore.
Speaking of which, the last song of the main set, Escape, though effectively festive, ended with a decided lack of punch.
The encore cheers were moderate, revealing confusion about just what was going on.
Red searchlights probed the crowd, and Iglesias returned for an ill-advised rendition of U2's Pride (In the Name of Love). His whiny twang - well, let's just say he's no Bono.
He got back on track with the ballad Hero. "We always do this," he said. "It's become like a tradition. We always bring someone up."( Gee, where did he get this idea?
)A woman named Tina was the lucky lady. "Do you have a boyfriend?" Iglesias prodded. "Yes," she replied.
"Oh."
"It doesn't matter!" she blurted.
While Iglesias didn't go as far as he has in the past with this shtick (he has been known to mix a little French in with his Spanish kisses), he did leave the disbelieving Tina with a gentle smooch on the lips.
Smart money says she, all her friends, and all the other ladies in the house will be back next time Enrique is in town.
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@ he's no Bono... 'whiny twang' and 'all purpose shrieking'
yea.... scary stuff...
) I hope this was his first and last time trying to f**k up a classic
OR ELSE!!
