What a Man, What a Man, What a Man, What a Mighty Good Man

Ricky Martin performed in Miami on Saturday – and by golly if I didn’t want to go see him, which luckily I did.

He put on a terrific show, in English and in Spanish, and it was greatly appreciated by the sold-out crowd since rumor had it he might reschedule due to a back injury.

My only very minor criticisms of his “Black and White Tour” are 1) I thought it looked artistically directed by Madonna, and 2) he didn’t sing a couple of crowd-pleasers.

Martin’s a stage man all the way, but it was surprising to see how informed his show appeared to be by Madonna’s “Re-Invention” and “Confessions” tours. There were giant backdrop screens, catwalks spilling out on the floor, and conveyor belts – all fairly usual accoutrements of an arena show like his. But the vibe…the vibe was sooo Madonna. I heard a few fans around me say so, too.

Which brings me to his performance: Where the Queen of Pop did yoga poses, the Latin heartrob did sun salutations; where she briefly spoke about helping children with AIDS in Africa, he did the same, extensively, on behalf of amputee, refugee, and/or orphaned children. It was all very inspired and inspiring – and by no means am I taking anything away from Martin and his show. I loved it.

But he didn’t sing “Shake Your Bon Bon.” Or “She Bangs.” And the rock-ified “Livin’ La Vida Loca” didn’t make me want to take my clothes off and go dancing in the rain. But his “Vuelve” and his “Tal Vez” gave me goose bumps.

At the end of it, though, Martin’s Miami show was a beautiful and fun-filled sexy night. I cannot wait to see him again.

Photo: NewMusicFriday.com.