An insufficient sound system and bad setup of the stage plagued the opening concert of Enrique Iglesias? ?One Night Stand? tour. The Latin heartthrob sang his heart out, but nothing the singer could have done would have improved the mistakes of tour organizers.

Of the 6000 fans that sold out the Air Canada Center in Toronto Monday, roughly half could not hear Iglesias perform. About a quarter of them had difficulties seeing. Iglesias had a massive speaker setup that hung down from the ceiling, but it only pointed to the center, leaving everyone in the wings with just two small speakers, about one-eighth the size. The speakers not only served no purpose for most fans, but it also blocked them from seeing him. It also did not help when two white sheets came down towards the end, providing a mystical scene, but just aggravating the audience further.

Iglesias? band included someone on bass, two guitarists, two people on keyboards, a drummer, a percussionist, and three backup singers. The stage included a small catwalk, spotlights, and lights coming out of what looked like a dance floor.

Taking the stage forty-minutes late, a white drape hung down from above, revealing a silhouette of Iglesias before his small physique emerged to perform ?Love 4 Fun,? and ?Love to See You Cry,? both from his second English and latest album, ?Escape.? Energy picked up when he performed ?Bailamos,? as he moved around the stage instead of standing still like he did initially.

The audience, consisting of an older audience then what is usual for a pop concert, was not into it. Before ?Rhythm Divine,? Iglesias had to motion for the fans to stand up, but that still did not do the trick. He barely moved around the stage, and he gave more eye contact to his band and backup singers than he did to the audience.

The highpoint of the show was Iglesias? duet of ?Could I Have this Kiss Forever? with a blonde backup singer, who stole the spotlight away from him. The sensual duet did not seem that way however because of the poor selection of light colour. Flashing lights of white, yellow, blue, green, purple, and several others definitely did not set the romantic mood.

Another positive was his set featuring a few Spanish songs, where he and two guitarists sat close to the audience and delivered a pleasant earful. The vivaciousness continued into his latest single, ?Escape,? which finally saw Iglesias frolic about the stage, as the audience rose from their now very-warm chairs.

Taking a teenage girl onstage with him, Iglesias performed a soulful rendition of ?Hero.? The girl was treated to him caressing her by parading around her, finishing the song by giving her a seemingly passionate kiss. He closed the show with ?Be With You,? with the audience taking over in the middle when the sound lowered.

This could have been an excellent concert, but perhaps it was better suited for a smaller venue. When fans chant, ?Turn up the volume,? the artist cannot win. With no opening acts and no encores, some people, who paid upwards of fifty dollars each, could not even differentiate Iglesias from his backup singers. The mistake of having a club-like show in an arena with two floors may cost Enrique some money in refund demands, and maybe even a few bitter fans.






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