Juan Gabriel Brings Midas Touch Onstage

Why is Juan Gabriel, an idiosyncratic performer with awkward looks and a stilted, effeminate pose, adored by his fellow Mexicans? A few numbers into the singer-songwriter’s stunning three-hour show Friday at the Universal Amphitheatre, the answer was easy to see.

The performance was a lesson in pop charm and frisky stage antics. And the fact that all of the material was actually composed by Gabriel is a reflection of his Promethean qualities. Even more impressive: The show captured only a few sides of his multidimensional talent.

Here’s a man with a Midas touch for hit singles. Catchy choruses seem to be his specialty, whether in carefree bubble-gum pop or dense, heart-wrenching torch songs. Gabriel’s artistry rests in the musical immediacy of the material and the identifiable nature of his lyrics.

The program Friday--the opening of a three-night engagement--was divided into two parts. First came pop songs such as “Querida” and “Noa Noa,” on which he was backed by a massive ensemble of percussion, keyboards and brass. Then came a 12-piece mariachi ensemble for a hilarious, show-stopping rendition of “Se Parece Tanto a Mi” and the powerful “El Principio,” the latter from his recent album with Rocio Durcal, “Juntos Otra Vez.”

But Juan Gabriel didn’t stop there. Every song was an opportunity for a new skit, a new way to seduce his audience. He did a pseudo-salsa number, sang a medley of songs dedicated to Mexican legend Lola Beltran and even brought to the stage four Spanish dancers who joined him for some fiery foot stomping.

The concert came to a fulfilling end with “Te Sigo Amando,” the 1997 hit that served as the main title to the year’s most successful Latin American soap opera. It is a lush, percussive tune with operatic flourishes and relentless bravado--serious proof that Gabriel’s talents as a hit-making machine are far from exhausted.