Sanz Matures; Fans Don’t

Alejandro Sanz performed only one new number during his 16-song concert at the Greek Theatre on Sunday. With most of his band off stage, the Spanish singer-songwriter retreated to a keyboard and soon seemed lost in the aching, tender sentiment of the tune he had penned just a week ago, “Te lo dire bajito” (I’ll Tell You Softly).

His delivery was hushed, as if privately speaking to a loved one while we eavesdropped. Fragments of the pensive lyrics lingered in the cool night air: “Todos somos heroes en busca de auxilio.” (We are all heroes seeking to be rescued.) It was a moment that might have matched the still beauty of the nearly full moon glowing over the Greek but for the uncouth fans whose hysterical screams shattered the artist’s delicate mood.

The new jewel in the Sanz repertoire came sandwiched between a bouncy trifle from his 1991 debut album and his catchy 1997 hit “Corazon Partio,” the concert’s sing-along closer. By juxtaposing old and new, the sequence highlighted just how much this pop troubadour has matured as a songwriter.

In content, this was essentially the same show Sanz gave last year at the Universal Amphitheatre, with a core of five songs from “El Alma al Aire,” the 2000 album that won an armful of Latin Grammys. But in style, Sunday’s concert reflected the toned-down approach of his more recent “MTV Unplugged.”

At last year’s show, the singer connected emotionally only when the overblown arrangements subsided, as when he played flamenco guitar on “Buleria.” He did the same song during his encore Sunday. But this time fans didn’t have to wait to the end to see the warm and intimate side of Sanz, whose voice was also less hoarse than usual, suppler, stronger and more precise.

His stage persona was as unpretentious as his attire: jeans and a casual striped shirt, worn unbuttoned and tails out. With his natural, nice-guy aura, the short and unassuming Spaniard makes an unlikely sex symbol. He doesn’t have the visceral magnetism of a Luis Miguel or the urbane charm of Julio Iglesias in his heyday.

Yet Sanz drives the women wild.

At one point, a possessive admirer nearly pulled the singer off the stage when he leaned over to greet her. It took two burly security guards to wrestle the determined woman to the ground while a third pulled Sanz back from the brink. Talk about our hero needing to be rescued. Still, he later ordered guards to let another excited female fan approach. The risk yielded an impromptu duet at the edge of the stage--and points for Sanz as one of our most accessible Latin superstars.

Bacilos, Miami’s interesting new Latin folk-rock group, opened the show and left fans asking for more.