Later, he picked up on some tension on the other side of the room. “This dude is looking at me like he wants to beat the sense out of me,” Romeo said, more or less. He tried to mollify the man — “I do this for a living. It’s just a show” — but couldn’t resist a final tweak. “I’m going to give you a tip,” he said, then pulled out a paper cutout of his face, and suggested putting it to use in the bedroom.
There were no such masks for sale at the merchandise tables — a missed opportunity — though women’s panties were available with “Obsesión” across the rear, the title of one of Aventura’s hits and a neat distillation of the fervor it inspires. For most of the last decade, this group — Romeo, born Anthony Santos; his cousin Henry Santos Jeter, who sings harmony; and, no relation to the others, the Santos brothers Max (bass) and Lenny (guitar) — has been reconfiguring bachata, the ballad-heavy Dominican folk style that dates to the 1960s, with the brusque sensuality of contemporary R&B.
It’s made stars of the Bronx-bred Aventura: this was the opening night of a four-date run at the Garden, a first for a Latin group, and it was an ecstatic triumph, three hours of easy seduction.
With a crisp, expertly controlled falsetto, Romeo is a devastatingly effective singer, as comfortable on the yearning side of romance (the thrilling “Mi Corazoncito”) as the kiss-off (the deceptively sweet “Tu Jueguito,” on which Romeo whispers, “Say goodbye to Romeo”). The recent single “Por un Segundo,” which opened the show, was a slow-building fire. On “Peligro,” Romeo even managed some theatrical indignation, but anger isn’t really his forte. His preferred aggression comes on songs like the reggaetón-inflected “Noche de Sexo,” which was downright raucous.
While Romeo might be mistaken for a solo star, Aventura is very much a band: Lenny is a nimble guitarist, nailing bachata’s gunfire melodies, and along with Romeo, a vibrant arranger; Max is an aggressive, firm bass player. (Henry mostly distracted the side of the room Romeo wasn’t attending to.) They were rounded out with additional guitars, keyboards and a crack four-man percussion section, featuring a traditional drum kit, bongos, congas and a güiro.
It was a charmingly old-fashioned presentation. As modern as Aventura is in style and content, on stage it has more in common with soul music big bands like Earth, Wind & Fire and the Gap Band than any contemporary Latin music or R&B.
Its blend of generational imperatives reached its apex on the group’s 2005 album, “God’s Project” (Premium Latin), the most artistically significant bachata album in recent memory. Last year Aventura released the follow-up, “The Last,” which suffered a bit under the weight of a handful of naked crossover attempts, including the glum “All Up 2 You” with Akon. An Akon-free version ham-handedly closed this show, the night’s only true misstep. (The encore, the breathy “Dile al Amor,” was a relief.)
Earlier, the group displayed a more natural flexibility when Marc Anthony came out to sing a tense, muscular, virtuoso “Aguanile,” the Hector Lavoe salsa standard. Mr. Anthony is a more impressive and forceful singer than Romeo, opposite in almost every way: power, texture, tone, emotion. But Romeo was subtle, painting around the edges, teasing where Mr. Anthony was ferocious.
Even with three hours to play with, Aventura still had to cram full-fledged hits into medleys. But “Un Beso” was a showpiece, love song as erotic theater. As is his custom, Romeo invited an amply proportioned woman onstage. “You don’t have a man?” he asked. No, she said. “It’s about to get nasty,” he promised. He guided her hand onto his crotch, feigning shock. Then he crossed his legs over her lap and planted his lips on hers. The stage began to spin, showing off the pair for all to see. You could hear the sound of 10,000 hearts breaking.
Aventura is to perform on Jan. 30 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., before returning on Feb. 1 and 2 to Madison Square Garden; aventuraworldwide.com.
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