Enrique Iglesias Dazzles With Intimacy, Sincerity

For the most compelling and consistently satisfying live show in Latin pop today, look no further than Enrique Iglesias. He’s the real thing.

He doesn’t possess the sheer charisma of a Luis Miguel or the superior repertoire of Ricky Martin, but Iglesias showed Thursday at the Universal Amphitheatre that he can outshine them both, thanks to the most effective weapon available to a live performer: the human touch.

Displaying a vulnerability that his father Julio would never allow his fans to see, Iglesias presented himself as less of a superstar and more of a poet. It was hard not to fall under the spell of this slightly scruffy, handsome young man who delivered his own songs with aching sincerity, never forgetting to connect with both his band and his adoring, screeching female audience.

Unlike his competitors, Iglesias doesn’t attempt to dazzle you with a big orchestra. There were no string quartets, no ominous horn sections, no scores of keyboard players following the directions of a stern conductor. There was just the basic combination of two guitars, bass, drums, percussion, one keyboard and the inevitable pair of female backup vocalists. The sound was rockish at times, and in songs such as “Ruleta Rusa” or a rollicking version of “La Bamba,” delightfully rough.

The show’s most revealing moment came when Iglesias suspended himself on a tiny circular platform that carried him above the audience from the stage to the center of the room. And when he invited a young woman onstage to serenade her with a song, he did so with an endearing mixture of naive sensuality and youthful romanticism.

For Iglesias, the game of pop seems to be all about intimacy. Good to see that somebody has gotten his priorities right.