Tuesday, December 07, 1999
Fans shriek for Ricky Martin
Latin crossover star electrifies Firstar
BY CHRIS VARIAS
Enquirer contributor
With all the artistic depth and subtlety of a Super Bowl halftime show, the Ricky Martin experience came to the Firstar Center Sunday night and left an impression that should last until the next pop-music phenomenon comes to town.
Super Bowl halftime shows may be dull to watch on TV, but they're fun to watch if you're there. Mr. Martin, the Latin-crossover superstar, put on a 90-minute show with enough razzle-dazzle to justify most of the hype, if not the $87.50 premium-ticket price.
Bungee-cord acrobats, confetti and streamers, dancers, video screens, a stage made up of moving risers and walkways — there was always some thing shiny and fast-moving to look at when looking at the Puerto Rican singer wasn't enough.
But for the mostly female crowd, exclusive Ricky-watching was the only way to take in the show. Each of Mr. Martin's shoulder shimmies, hip sways, pelvic thrusts and back-end tremors was greeted with shrieks and fervent shakes of the Puerto Rican flags that some audience members brought along.
Mr. Martin basically played the role of Afro-Caribbean-music aerobics instructor. He was in perpetual motion to the fast-paced beat, always with a big grin plastered on his face.
“Simon Bolivar's dream was to unite the Americas, and that's what we're doing tonight, uniting the Americas,” Mr. Martin said.
He was right. Middle America was loving any and every Latin sound. Merengue and New York salsa are already two of the less-subtle Latin disciplines, and Mr. Martin's band's take on the styles was out-and-out Vegas slick.
His set list was a unification project as well. He sang almost half the songs in Spanish, while the rest were in English, often to a tune with a schmaltzy pop arrangement straight from the U.S.A.
Mr. Martin opened with “Livin' La Vida Loca,” singing the entire song from atop the hood of a Ford Mustang convertible that rotated on a circular section of the stage. Other highlights included “Spanish Eyes,” “Maria” and “Shake Your Bon-Bon.”
Show opener Jessica Simpson battled through strep throat, often skipping lines and apologizing to the crowd.
But the crowd was on her side, considering she brought out Nick Lachey from 98` to sing with her on the ballad “Where You Are.”
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