Alexandre
Pires & Jerry Rivera Chicago Theatre - February
21, 2004
I'm
still not sure I wasn't at a Beatles concert
when Alexandre Pires & Jerry Rivera performed
at the Chicago Theatre on February 21. The
only thing I think the two had in common was
their youth and the denizens of screamers.
Billed as a "Concierto Para Enamorados",
I think almost everyone there was in love
with either Pires or Rivera.
When
the 8 p.m. show finally kicked off around
9 with Alexandre Pires, the place went wild
and I suddenly noticed the heavy proportion
of women down by the front of the stage. He
did not help matters by bending over and constantly
kissing the boldest throughout his set as
well as allowing a few here and there to slip
through the "selective security" and jump
on stage. I also learned the destination of
the big blue stuffed elephant that did not
seem to belong at a salsa concert - he went
straight backstage from the front row without
a pass - after one of the many aggressive
fans grabbed Pires. Quite a melee!
The
Brazilian star seemed to be the huge draw
of the night and his singing and speaking
in Spanish now, only endeared him more. He
has a magnificent voice and luckily he slips
back into his samba roots here and there,
including performing one of the most classic
samba hits of all, "Brasil" by Ary Barrosso
(in his native Portuguese). You can't lose
adding a samba beat to any song, especially
since his Brazilian stardom was with the #1
pop samba band, "So Pra Contrariar".
The multi-talented Pires definitely deserved
all of the attention, switching from playing
scorching timbales all the way to a ukulele
among other things. The constant clothing
changes were a little distracting and time-consuming
(particularly when he came out as James Brown,
wig and all!). He did, however, look modelesque
in contrast to Rivera's jeans and sweater.
At one point, though nothing original, as
a fan thrust a cell phone into his hand, the
lucky receiver on the other end was treated
to a lovely ballad sung entirely to them.
At times Pires sounded a little like Luis
Miguel with a more powerful voice. I could
have done without the tossing out of washcloths
to the audience that he made sure had passed
over some part of his body. Nonetheless, for
a 28-year-old performer who has only had 2
CDs released in this country and just now
on his first U.S. tour - look out!
When
Jerry Rivera finally came out after about
a half hour set change, the screaming started
all over again. He started off with the strong
salsa of "Puerto Rico", from where he had
just flown in and of course, his birthplace.
He really participated in the stage repartee
with all of his fans, kissing them every chance
he could. (I'm sure all of these women must
know that he is married with three kids).
Actually, I came to hear Jerry sing not off-key
fans in front of which he seemed to like to
place the mike. After the purity of Pires'
voice, Rivera sounded more nasal, but you
cannot help but enjoy him as he got to some
of his best hits such as "De Otra Manera".
The oft-injected "baby" into his
songs always sounds a little artificial.
Now,
5-plus years after his death, Rivera is doing
his tribute to Frankie Ruiz with his latest
CD "Tributo a Frankie Ruiz", covering
his material. He performed some tonight as
well, of course, most notably, "Bailando".
Rivera has talked in the past of singing Ruiz's
songs before ever starting his career, calling
him "El Papa de la Salsa", although
Ruiz was barely 40 when he died in a very
sad and wasteful way, losing the battle with
drugs and alcohol. Rivera himself is still
only 30-years-old after some 13 years since
his first CD came out, hence, his nickname
"Cara de Nino", among several others
(also the name of one of his CDs). The show
ended around midnight and although there were
empty seats, most were probably due to the
press of girls at the foot of the stage. I
assume they all went back to their boyfriends.
