The last time most people saw pop star Ricky Martin was his 30 second appearance during this years Superbowl halftime show. Martin has been doing some sporadic shows this year. He made an ultra rare appearance in the WNY/Southern Ontario area this past Wednesday night. It’s only the 2nd time he played the area and the first since he played the former HSBC Arena on June 25, 2000. So, you can say the area has longed for Martin, who has been crowned the king of latin pop.
Martin took the stage atop of a riser for the opening of “Pégate.” As Martin worked his way down, the band kicked into the next track “Maria.” Martin had a huge ensemble. The backing band had a 3 piece horn section, a drummer, bassist, keyboardist, guitarist, backup vocalist and 6 dancers. Most of the set contained spanish numbers with the exception of a couple of English tracks tossed in. Martin didn’t say too much throughout his show as he let the music do most of the talking. Martin and his band had the audience grooving and moving the entire night. The string players and the rest of the band came to the forefront of the stage for “Lola, Lola.” I was actually glad to see Martin had another vocalist on stage. As he not only provided rich harmonies, but sang co-lead on a number of tracks too. Both of them together made their vocals sound very lush and full. A recorded video of Christina Aguilera popped on the video screen and sang along with Martin on the song “Who Wants to Be Lonely.” Martin left the stage and came back out to do four tracks for the encore. Of course, he played his biggest song in “Livin La Vida Loca.” The show ended with a bang as he did “The Cup of Life” with confetti raining down on the audience as the song closed the show.
Martin reminded people why his is nicknamed the latin king of pop. He delivered a highly energetic 1 hour and 40 minute show. The long wait was surely worth it for the fans who attended the show this past Wednesday night. Their only hope was they don’t want to wait another 16 years to see him again.
Setlist:
Pégate
María
Adrenalina (Wisin cover)
Bombón de azúcar
Vuelve (Franco de Vita cover)
Shake Your Bon-Bon
Qué rico fuera
Lola, Lola
She Bangs
Tal vez
Asignatura pendiente (Ricardo Arjona cover)
Y todo queda en nada / Fuego de noche, nieve de día
Te extraño, te olvido, te amo
Tu recuerdo
La mordidita
Encore:
Por arriba, por abajo
Vente pa’ ca
Livin’ la Vida Loca
The Cup of Life
We would like to thank Erin Stitt from the Fallsview Casino for the credentials to review the show.