Marc Anthony
HEB Center, Cedar Park, TX
March 1, 2020
Review and Photography by Chuck Stanley
Marc Anthony’s Opus World Tour filled the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park on March 1 with the infectious rhythms of his unique big band salsa sound. The 8000+ crowd was treated to songs spanning his entire career dating back nearly 30 years to his latest release “Opus”.
Anthony’s 16-member big band opened the party with a hyper-quick medley of hits before the Puerto Rican superstar emerged from below the stage in dramatic fashion on a slow, smoke-filled lift, which sent the predominately Latin crowd into a frenzy.
The arena wide stage was flanked by 2 video screens and a large stage-length screen that hovered over the big band. The vibrant light show accompanied the stage and video presentation with spotlights focusing on the singer or one of his big band musicians during a solo or song introduction. Throughout the 14-song set, the stage screen was accented with border graphics and mood appropriate color grading that changed with each song.
Every song was sung in Spanish and Anthony’s fans knew every word to every song. At no time during the salsa party disguised as a concert did the crowd stop singing along or swaying to the hypnotic rhythms. The suave pop star rarely spoke between songs, but after the 3rd song, he facilitated a marriage proposal for a fan in the front row, which only heightened the festive atmosphere for Austin fans.
Marc Anthony is touring behind his latest album “Opus,” which is his first album in nearly 6 years and 13th effort overall. His 16-piece touring band is composed of horns, percussion, guitars, keyboards and back-up singers. While the album versions of Anthony’s songs may be concise or radio-friendly in length, his touring big band exercised their outstanding musicianship by accentuating each song into a salsa jam. Extended guitar solos were reminiscent and worthy of Eddie Van Halen comparisons.
After taking photos of Marc Anthony during the first 3-songs of the set, I moved to the back of the floor area to continue to watch the show. Throughout the 90-minute+ salsa-driven concert, couples flooded the open area behind the reserved floor seats to dance. And they danced all the way to the end.
Marc Anthony and his big band put on a concert, while concurrently hosting a salsa party for fans from all across south central Texas.
