Glowstick vendors made a mint and screams often overwhelmed the music at Starlight Theatre on Saturday night.
A youthful audience of approximately 5,000 turned out for Mexican phenomenon RBD, superstars among Spanish-speaking fans of pop music.
A spinoff of the wildly popular Mexican telenovela "Rebelde," RBD has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide in the last three years, including more than 4
million units in the United States.
More family-friendly than Fergie and more compelling than Disney products like High School Musical, RBD are the world's reigning purveyors of effervescent pop music. Not only is their melodic material well-crafted, they borrow sounds from beyond their Mexican base, liberally sampling reggae, salsa, the Euro-pop of Abba and the
dramatic "popera" associated with Josh Groban.
RBD's delightful show felt like an extended pep rally. The attractive cast of six singers/dancers alternated loosely choreographed group efforts with solo turns. A sparkling band effectively translated their highly manufactured sound to the live setting. The lush Beatles-derived pop of "Ser O Parecer" and the propulsive Latin freestyle of "Money Money" were particularly compelling.
Yet RBD's live vocals served as a constant reminder that the group consists of actors who just happen to sing. The tentative stab at group harmony on "I Wanna Be the Rain" explained why RBD usually sticks to singing in unison. The notable exception is the extremely capable voice of Christian Chavez. He delivered RBD's best ballad,
"Tu Amor," accompanied only by piano. It was the evening's musical highlight.
Of RBD's three women, Maite Perroni is the only natural vocalist.
Dubious vocal talent aside, the evening's sole sour note was RBD's tardiness. Although there were no opening acts, RBD didn't appear until almost 90 minutes after the scheduled start time. The cheerful audience waited patiently, but the delay took a toll on RBD's youngest fans.
By the time RBD closed their nearly two-hour performance with theme song "Rebelde," the glowsticks were fading and kids not on cotton candy highs had fallen asleep in their parents' arms.
Bill Brownlee, Special to The Star
Bill Brownlee has either gotten it all wrong or he is a talentless wannabe. I was up till 2 am Fri night and drove almost 200 miles to see RBD and I do not speak a word of Spanish. I have waited since the early 2000's to see this band and thank God they came to see us. Christian and Maite are very talented. Even more talented that Bill wannabe, but Dulce Marie is one of the most talented singers to ever grace any American stage.
To RBD: Please come back to KC, Mo dispite Bill Wannabe does not appreciate your wonderful talent and would rather spend his time daydreaming of is highschool days when he was told don't quite your dayjob young man.
Proud to be a nonlatino fan
Posted by: Brad Robertson | October 01, 2007 at 11:41 PM
who said RBD weren't famous?
Posted by: Gabriel from RBD | December 20, 2007 at 05:44 PM