Going for a more eclectic identity

It takes a lot to schedule a solo show at Staples Center, fill the place with enthusiastic fans and then generate the performing pyrotechnics required to make it all a success. Josh Groban did that and a bit more on Saturday.

Of course, that all depends on the meaning of the word “success.” For those in the audience, who erupted with screams and cheers every time Groban loped across the wide stage and up one of the side risers, it was a success because he was there, singing songs they knew (mostly from his latest album, “Awake”), even mingling with fans in a singing walk-through.

In an era of CDs bearing parental warning labels, Groban is an anomaly. His youth, sweet good looks, choir-boy manner and appealing baritone voice seem like a throwback to another era. Yet he is undeniably contemporary, and his performance -- like the new CD -- seemed to underscore Groban’s desire to amplify that aspect of his work.

Although a substantial ensemble of strings and winds was spread across the back of the stage, the dominant sound was the high-decibel, low-end-dominated texture of his basic ensemble of guitar, bass, piano, keyboards and percussion. Except for the engaging moments on tunes such as his own “February Song” and “Remember When It Rained,” the muddy intensity of the audio, combined with the sometimes cheesily psychedelic video projections, created the distinct aura of a performer in search of a rock-style identity.

That quest was further enhanced by the presence of the odd number “Machine” (also from “Awake”) and of violinist Lucia Micarelli, dramatically playing in front of the ensemble, adding eye candy but really heard only on a brief, fast-fingered solo number.

Groban’s pursuit of creative eclecticism was far more successful in a duet with Benin’s Angelique Kidjo (who opened with a far too brief set). Singing a passionately interactive version of Sade’s touching song “Pearls,” Groban finally displayed a tempting glimpse of a mature presence and a musical assertiveness that can take him beyond the boy-toy image and on to the next phase of a career in which “success” has as much to do with content as with delivery.