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 Entertainment | September 2007 
Red-Hot Maná, Two Decades On
 Mario Tarradell - Dallas Morning News
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| | Fher, lead singer of the Mexican rock quartet Maná, charmed a sold-out crowd of nearly 200,00 people Friday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. |
Three quick thoughts come to mind regarding Friday night's Maná concert at American Airlines Center:
1. The show was sold out. Yes, sold out. That's close to 20,000 people. It only proves the Mexican rock band remains red hot 21 years after its inception.
2. The nosebleed seats, where this critic was sitting, aren't all that bad. The sound isn't obstructed at all, and you get a cool vantage point for looking at the massive crowd. Sure, at Friday's show, speakers and lights got in the way of the performers onstage, but we've all seen this quartet before, right?
3. A 10-minute drum solo from the always-animated Alex González never fails. That's a Maná signature if ever there was one.
The guys didn't take the stage until 8:50 p.m., almost an hour late. So deadlines permitted me to catch only the first 70 minutes. The song selection was sure unexpected, considering the band is touring behind last year's successful Amar Es Combatir.
They opened with "Déjame Entrar," with its scratchy guitar work and '70s funk-rock sound. It was the third number, the ballad "Manda Una Señal," that came from Combatir. So did the next two tracks, "Labios Compartidos" and "Bendita Tu Luz.
Maná excels at pop hooks, rhythms that combine rock, R&B, salsa and reggae – not to mention Mr. González's fierce drum work and bassist Juan Diego Calleros beat-heavy plucks. Melodies abound, too. That's why the band is so commercially viable and so instantly likable. Latin pop radio plays Maná regularly, one of the few Latin rock entities to get spun. Rock purists can go on and on about how pop they are, but that's just jealousy.
Maná crafts accessible music with a socially conscious bent, such as "Cuando Los Angeles Lloran" from the 1995 CD of the same name.
Watching them in concert is a cool experience. For "Vivir Sin Aire," lead singer Fher picked a female fan from the audience to bring onstage. She sat on a red couch surrounded by the group. "Vivir Sin Aire," done acoustically, is perhaps Maná's most recognized ballad, a song that's been covered by artists as diverse as Latin pop pianist Raul Di Blasio.
The tune was one of many Maná signatures on display Friday night before a huge audience.
mtarradell@dallasnews.com |
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