Hunky Mexican balladry
The great Toyota experiment: Can a Latin mega tour thrive without Marc Anthony?
Alejandro Fernandez at the Toyota Center FridayPhoto by David Franco
Marco Antonio Solís
Joan Sebastian at the Toyota Center on Friday
Pay close attention to the Los Tr3s Tour, live music lovers. Lord knows that the rest of entertainment world is watching and hopes this all-star bonanza of hunky Mexican balladry and charm flies.
You see, success here bodes well for the curators of every other expensive production tour hoping that fans, once again, have the discretionary income to pony up for a night of entertainment of this caliber.
As summer approaches many live music consumers are still looking for new jobs, new homes and a much-needed upgrade on some other basic necessities. A night out dancing and fawning over wealthy entertainers is not at the top of the "to-do" list.
Concert promoters and entertainers know this and it has forced them to get more creative on how they package their products to you. Apparently the answer lies somewhere between waiting for a better market (Christina Aguilera and U2 have already nixed their upcoming North American tour plans) and turning to the Costco/Sam's Club method of marketing: Sell it to you in bulk.
The Los Tr3s Tour is only one-of-many multi-act packages heading out on the road this summer, but it is definitely one of the riskiest. Unlike past years, there is no Marc Anthony to anchor this Latin Handsome Club.
True, Los Tr3s' Alejandro Fernandez is a ranchera and pop singer who has been topping the Latin pop charts with regularity for 15 years and has had more crossover appeal recently with a move away from traditional folk and toward radio-friendly ballads and dance tunes.
Another Tour act, Joan Sebastian has been a Mexican radio staple for the last quarter century, has released an astounding 37 albums and even starred in a telenovela.
Los Tr3s' Marc Antonio Solis is the Mexican equivalent of Soundgarden's Chris Cornell or No Doubt's Gwen Stefani: a singer in a popular band who broke away and had similar success as a solo act.
After 20 years with Los Bukis, Solis ventured out alone and has since racked up two dozen top 10 hot Latin singles (including 10 No. 1's). His last album No Molestar also reached No. 1 on the top Latin albums charts.
Individually ,Fernandez, Sebastian and Solis are Latin music megastars who could fill buildings in just about any primarily Spanish-speaking metropolis in the world. But, trying to compete for the same North American tour dollars sought by the Dave Matthews Band, the Eagles, Rush, Tom Petty, the Jonas Brother, John Mayer, Lillithfair ... you get picture.
An economics teacher would explain this as: Too many guns and not enough butter.
Still, Houston should feel honored that the city was chosen as one of the nine stops for this socioeconomic experiment.
Los Tr3s Tour featuring Alejandro Fernandez, Joan Sebastian & Marco Antonio Solis, 7 p.m. at the Toyota Center
Tickets $39.50-$250
