You guys, it’s summer. I love just about everything about summer, and one of my favorite things are concerts. I actually have one a month for the rest of the year, so get ready to party! And let’s hope the weather in November and December is a tiny bit summer like.
Earlier this year, I went to see Bon Jovi, and a few weeks ago Mom and I headed up to the Palace to see Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias. We’re both super sad that this will be one of our last visits to the Palace because it is such a nice venue.
This latest concert was no exception. We skipped the opening act and made it through the traffic pretty well. After getting settled in to our aisle floor seats (always the best choice), we jammed to DJ Flipside. He was playing tons of great music and got the crowd going. I really enjoyed this as opposed to the normal music playing over the speakers.
Before too long Pitbull took the stage. I have to confess that I love Pitbull and have a crush on Pitbull and cannot sit still during any of his catchy songs. Mom typically isn’t so convinced, but even she had to admit that he was awesome.
From start to finish, Pitbull’s performance captivated as he moved from hit to hit with some dancers to accompany him. what’s even more interesting about Pitbull is that most of his songs feature other artists. This sounds like it would make for a boring show with him just bobbing along to the music, but that is not the case. He jumped up and down and kept the crowd super energized and motivated. My favorite songs were “Timber” and “Rain Over Me” but there was not a dud on the setlist.
He interspersed some motivational speeches about how resilient Detroit is and how we’re all hard workers. He talked about jobs going to other countries and how they should stay in Detroit. While I am sure Pitbull makes similar comments in other cities, these felt very personal and tailored to our city.
A massive, and I mean massive, amount of confetti ended his set which made nice use of large video screens, fire, smoke, and laser lights. The light show was really my favorite part of the evening visually. This is something more and more shows are relying on and it is really a welcome addition to the shows.
After about an hour and a half, DJ Flipside came back out to entertain us as we waited for Enrique Iglesias.
I grew up on Enrique’s music. Those early songs in his career like “Hero” and “Bailamos” were on the radio every single day, and hearing them live brought back all those memories. Enrique is definitely a fan favorite and he did everything he could to be as close to his fans as possible, including walking through the crowd, jumping off the stage, and climbing the set pieces.
The music was great, even if it was a little hard to follow along to several Spanish songs. But here’s the thing about Enrique, he spends far more of his time looking at the crowd and encouraging the crowd to cheer and pointing the microphone at the crowd than he does singing. That was the first thing both Mom and I noticed.
This didn’t make our enjoyment of the show diminish, but Enrique seemed a little tired and even admitted a few times he’s getting “old.” More confetti and giant beach balls floating through the air (how I hate those balls), rounded out the show that did not include an encore or Enrique and Pitbull singing together, despite the fact they have several songs together. That was a bit of a disappointment, but the night was a blast and the music was great.
I don’t know if I’d see Enrique again, though I am glad I saw him at this show, but I’m up for another Pitbull show anytime. Plus, two shows in one night is always a good time!
I love going to concerts as well. I don’t get to go to as many these days as I used to when I was a little younger and before having kids… I did just go to one two days ago (The Shins) and it was so great! Glad you had fun!
Cool concert. I like Pitbull a lot too! I like to watch him perform so I am sure that he does a great job at a concert! Since I am not really a concert goer, I like to see how much you enjoy them and can live through your experience.