That Ricky

I told The Boy last night that his position as my favourite guy has been usurped by Ricky Martin...because oooh, that Ricky sure gyrates good. The Boy shrugged, deeming Ricky as mom's passing fancy and no real threat.

Ricky is a beautiful, beautiful man. According to AskMen.com, the question about Ricky is, which team is he on? I don't think so. It doesn't matter which team he bats for. He's an entertainer. He's delicious eye candy, with a physique and athleticism to aspire to regardless of which team you're on.

The question for me is, is he a better singer or dancer? I think he's a better dancer. I think he must have taken ballet classes. I wonder what it's like to have a crowd of 20,000 swoon at every move you make. Each time Ricky came out of the shadow, shook a hip, or raised an arm, the audience went crazy. And he knows how to move and pose.

His show is one of terrific choreography and multi-media visuals. Sometimes, he and his dancers looked like cheerleaders in white. It's that clean. Sure, his music has a nice latino beat that makes you want to shake your booty and made the pain in my arthritic thumb throbbed to the music, but really, it doesn't matter whether he has a good voice or whether you're into his music or not. The crowd was too loud and he sang mostly in Spanish so I didn't understand a single word any way. But I really like him performing barefoot.

At these concerts, it's always interesting to watch the audience. Ricky's audience is mostly women, from teens to mothers. Some women bring their whole family to see the show, which means children and grandparents in the audience. Some just bring their boyfriends. But it's the Ricky-wannabe men and teens who scream for Ricky the loudest.

Take the family in front of us for example. They stood for the whole concert. One of the men held up an 8 X 10 photograph of Ricky and kept waving it at the stage. The teen beside him just screamed and screamed. Her mother kept patting her back to calm her. I don't know who all the other members of their group was. I guess the aunts and uncles with their dates.

In my teen years, people lit up cigarette lighters at concerts. It was odd last night to see so many cell phones and digital cameras raised above people's heads, lit up in little white squares. This is the audience of the techno age.

No one stormed the stage, no one smoked pot, no one got out of control. Ushers even served beer. One even helped me find my coat after. Making people pay almost $100 for a ticket is one way to screen out the rowdy and unruly. For my part, I clapped, cheered and shook my booty. I hollered Ricky, Ricky. I blew him kisses at the end. It was fun and very civilized.