Gig review/ Enrique iglesias

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Enrique Iglesias/ Live in Mumbai

Genre: Pop/ Latino-pop

Details: MMRDA grounds, Bandra Kurla Complex, October 29 and 309

Presented by: Eva Live

Rating: ** 1/2

As he proved at his shows at the MMRDA grounds in Bandra Kurla Complex on October 29 and 30, Enrique Iglesias has some special talents. His voice can have the same volume whether his microphone is close to his lips or three feet away, or whether it's perched safely on its stand as he's dancing some 10 feet away. He can also trick the cameraman to show he's singing high notes on the giant screen when his mouth is shut. 

Most of the audience, of course, didn't notice this brilliant improvisation of the art of ventriloqu-lipism. They had come to party, and a party is what they got. They had come to dance, and dance is what they did. The ladies in their early 40s wanted to remember their first real-life crush, and they did that secretly. They had come to sing along with their 'Hero', and didn't really care about whether he sang along with them.

Undoubtedly, the Spanish heartthrob had some of the biggest hits of the turn of the century, and was a frontrunner of the Latino-pop movement that also included Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony and later Shakira. From 'Bailamos' and 'Be With You' to 'Escape' and 'Hero', Enrique played a good chunk of those numbers. He also played some Spanish tunes which people seemed to understand. But how on earth could he skip the foot-tapping 'Rhythm Divine' and the super-soppy 'Addicted'? In their day, these two songs were a rage in India. Had he not practised how to mime them?

Both shows began with a likelihood of rain in the evening. Contrary to the IMB weather forecasts, it was dry on the first but there was a sudden downpour while the crew was preparing for the gig on the second. Singer Jonita Gandhi had ended her set, and she was 100 per cent live, point underlined. The rain caused a further delay and Enrique came on at 8.40 pm on the second day, accompanied by a huge round of crowd excitement as he presented 'Subeme La Radio', 'Freak' and 'Chasing The Sun' in rapidfire succession. Mobiles and wrist gizmos lit up, girls sobbed in the front and couples hugged for the show organiser's cameras to post happy images on reels and show the Insta world how successful the gig was. "Enrique wave sweeps Mumbai," they said. The world got swept away.

There were the high points, of course. At age 50, Enrique looks smashing. He is supremely fit, and was running and dancing around the stage energetically. He interacted with the fans, showing an innocence and a sense of camaraderie. The girls forgot everything when his pearly whites dazzled on screen. His back-up band was excellent too, with the curly-haired female singer and cowboy-hatted percussionist shining. The guitar solo on the final song 'I Like It' was indeed Slash level.

For a good part, the show had turned into a dance party, as the tracks 'I Like How It Feels', 'Tired Of Being Sorry', 'Escape' and 'Tonight (I'm Loving You)' played in sequence. The crowd was in a trance by then. They knew the 'Oh oh oh oh' lines too, and wonder what, they sang them live. Of course, it would make no difference if a DJ was playing those songs and Enrique was just doing his dance moves. 

A lot has changed in the music events space since Enrique last performed at another section of Bandra Kurla Complex in 2004. Those days he was at his prime and the hits were fresh. There were no social media or reels, and the production standards weren't as evolved as they are today. He had put up a fantastic performance then. This week's shows were strong on nostalgia, energy and spirit, but in terms of his own musicianship, there was a huge difference. But who cares, as long as you knew the 'Oh oh oh oh' lines and could pose for the reels?

PS: Sorry for not including a list of actors, celebs or social media products who were grooving to Enrique. I either didn't see them, or didn't recognise them, or make them the main focus of my article.