Saturday Night: Maná At Toyota Center

By Marco Torres Mon., Jul. 4 2011 at 9:00 AM

Photos by Marco Torres

Maná
Toyota Center
July 2, 2011

It takes a special combination of hype and talent to sell out a concert, let alone two in a row. In recent memory, only two other artists have been booked to perform on consecutive nights at Toyota Center: Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga.

Mexican Rock en Español band Maná accomplished the same achievement on Saturday night as they rocked, rolled, and serenaded the first of two capacity weekend crowds at the downtown arena.

Released earlier this year, Drama y Luz is the band's eighth studio album. The title translates into "Drama and light," a nearly perfect description of Maná's catalog, which is filled with equal parts guitar-fueled anthems and heart-melting love songs.

The band paid homage to The Beatles by playing "Revolution" through the loud speakers minutes before taking the stage and opening with "Lluvia al Corazón." Singing behind a translucent white curtain, lead singer Fher Olvera treated the crowd to his unique raspy yet smooth vocals, while drummer Alex "Animal" González kept the tempo. The classic hit "Oye Mi Amor" was presented soon afterwards, prompting the crowd to sing and dance along to the reggae-rock beat.

The mood slowed down as the lights were lowered and a large group of violins, violas, and cellos joined the band to perform "El Espejo" and "Sor Maria," both from the new album. Actors dressed as Franciscan monks snaked their way through the crowd and onto the stage, burning incense and chanting along the way.

A clearly emotional Fher then dedicated the song "Vuela Libre Paloma" to his mother, who recently passed away after a battle with cancer. "Paloma" means "dove" in Spanish, and the stage was flanked with two large wings.

The drum set was then moved to the middle of the stage with the help of a hydraulic lift. González proceeded to produce the mother of all drum solos, and the faster he drummed, the higher and faster the platform moved. Then, like a true rock star, he reached into one of his snare drums, pulled out a cold beer, and chugged it. Salud, Alex!

Location Info

Venue

Map

Toyota Center

1510 Polk, Houston, TX

Category: Music

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Kristy

I was excited to see Mana on Saturday. The show was so freakin' awesome I had to see the Sunday show as well. All I can say is WOW!!! Both shows were EXCELLENT. I had so much fun and would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Woohoo!!! MANA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

silvia cuadrado

ME ENCANTA MANA IGUAL QUE LOS HOMBRES CULTOS Y CON BUEN GUSTO

Dani

oh why i missed this chilling moments

redsnow 4.3.3

thanks for sharing dear..you deserve to reach at peak of blogging.

Campvero

Great write-up and awesome photos! I made the one you took of the crowd, 2nd row! Mana is the best and the concerts never disappoint. My first concert was in the Woodlands in 1996 I believe the new album was Suenos Liquidos. Can not wait for the next one.

Luz Rivera

Ditto on what Carlos said, "Effin Awesome"! Loved the orchestra joining them onstage!! This was my third time to see Mana & they never dissapoint.

Carlos

Awesome Concert Saturday, I was in the suites and noticed all most everyone on their feet the entire concert and they played longer than any other group I've seen, other than in1999 when they came with Carlos Santana, that was a long concert LOL!! I'm pretty sure he said, " "Gracias a todos, son de poca madre!" translates to "Effen Awesome"