Pop and Jazz Reviews : Gabriel Dampens His Fire at Amphitheatre

Juan Gabriel is one of the most prolific and influential composers of today’s Latin pop, continuing the tradition of such romantic Latin classicists as Armando Manzanero, Agustin Lara and Jose Alfredo Jimenez. His compositions had been performed by a wide variety of musicians, from Rocio Durcal to Julio Iglesias to the Mexican rock band Maldita Vecindad. But much of the Mexican superstar’s concert on Friday at the Universal Amphitheatre seemed like just another Las Vegas revue.

Instead of concentrating on his own material and singing the songs his audience was expecting, he wasted one third of his concert in a medley that showcased his impressive orchestra while exposing his deficiencies as a dancer and performer.

Gabriel is known for his ability to switch easily from pop to more traditional musical styles on his records, but one confused segment of the show suggested that it’s not a skill he’s mastered on the stage: He had his mariachi troupe dance to the beat of a cha-cha-cha, he swayed to the rhythms of a cumbia and a lambada, he served up a savorless version of the Gipsy Kings’ “Bamboleo” while his backup singers responded with the disco refrain of “That’s the Way (I Like It).”

There were bright moments during the show (the first of three nights at the amphitheater), such as a series of rancheras , but the constant sound problems, the shortage of his own songs and the excessive orchestral arrangements during “Querida” and “El Noa Noa” (the most popular songs of the night) all contributed to a lack of intimacy between Gabriel and his audience.