At Melomaniacs, we all know music is the universal language. Music unites all kinds of different people in a way no other language can. This very sentence seemed to be the thesis statement of a night at a Pitbull concert in Arnhem.
Before it was Pitbulls’ time to come on stage, it was Lil Jon who was the party host. He came all the way from Atlanta, Georgia to get the party started here in Arnhem. Lil Jon took us back to the 2000’s. He did so obviously with his music, but also with the visuals. The fan cams were a big part of the visuals. Throughout his set, he had live video footage of the fans playing, in a frame which looked like the screen of an old flipphone or different versions of old, bulky televisions. After he played ‘Turn Down for What’, the crowd was properly warmed up for the concert. He pulled up his so-called crunk-meter to measure how loud the crowd was and he seemed to be satisfied with its results.
After his band took the stage, Pitbull appeared with lots of light effects and smoke. All the lights went out except for a spotlight focussed on himself and he took in the moment. The applause from the crowd was so loud you could barely hear the music starting again. After playing ‘Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor)’ he told the audience he liked his privacy. He liked his privacy because he likes to get nice things. He also liked to get freaky. Then ‘Hotel Room Service’ started playing. When Pitbull sang ‘I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)’, he showed the crowd he still has some very loose hips. He was shaking those hips with very much confidence in front of all 32.000 people who gathered in the Gelredome in Arnhem.
In between songs, Pitbull liked to share some of his wisdom with the audience. He said he wanted to teach them what music had taught him. Which was that music was a universal language that brings people together. There is one race only, the human race. “We. Are. One.” he said. In light of the world cup happening at this time, he said music and sport have that in common. He said that we are fucking powerful, when we are together, when we are one. Then he asked everybody to put their hands up in the sky as the first notes of ‘We Are One (Ole Ola)’ came out of the speakers. This song features Jenifer Lopez, so the logical next song was ‘On The Floor’, also featuring JLO. Pitbull had another message for his audience. He wanted his audience to feel motivated and inspired after this evening. He also wanted them to learn something new. He had noticed the fans who came to his show in Arnhem spoke lots of different languages. He wanted to teach the fans a little bit of Spanish. He asked to repeat after him “No pares! Sí! Sí!” and then started ‘Gasolina’.
For ‘Culo’ the crowd got a surprise as Lil Jon entered the stage. Both artists were wearing cowboy hats and jumping frantically on the stage. After the song, Pitbull said “Dankjewel” (Dutch for “thank you”) and he said “Damn I love Miami” to introduce ‘Damn I Love Miami’.
Pitbull seemed to be full of gratitude as he kept repeating “Dankjewel” throughout the show. He also thanked Lil Jon, not just for being here tonight, but mostly for believing in him and giving him a chance 25 years ago. Without men like Lil Jon, he would not be here today, is what Pitbull told the audience.
Pitbull played his hit ‘Timber’ and the crowd went wild. Which was not even that extraordinary anymore, as most of the setlist consisted of hits and the crowd was feral about all of them. It was like the arena had turned into one big club. Only the club had a very specific dress code and would not let you in if you were not wearing a baldcap. “From one underdog, to all the other underdogs” Pitbull started. “Fuck you motherfuckers. If you ain’t got haters, you ain’t doing it right.” He said that together with his fans, they had taken over the world, referring to his recently placed Guinness Book of World Records, for gathering the most amount of people wearing bald caps. He said that one thing was sure. For the minute you put on that bald cap, you were going to have a good time, he said. He called his record the ultimate underdog record.
He next played ‘Feel This Moment’ and ‘Fireball’. The latter was requested a lot on cardboard signs throughout the venue. After ‘Fireball’, he seemed to start feeling the consequences of performing in a suit on a hot summer night and he poured a whole bottle of water over himself. Then he got himself a bottle of vodka and said “Proost!” (Dutch for “Cheers”) before chugging half the bottle. After playing ‘Time of Our Lives’ and ‘Give Me Everything’, he thanked the crowd again. He also thanked his band and his dancers and especially his promoter Kim, who had made him come to the Netherlands. He said some things in Spanish before leaving the stage. It was beautiful to so someone who has accomplished so much in his career, still be so grateful for everyone who helped him get there.
