International Superstar and “Mr. Worldwide” Pitbull brought his Cant Stop Us Now Tour to Darien Lake Amphitheater on Sunday night. Like last summer’s tour stop in Syracuse, he brought Australian rapper Iggy Azalea out as the opening act.
On Sunday night over 20,000 fans piled into the venue for a high-energy spectacle. Pitbull hit the ground running from his first song. Opening with “Don’t Stop The Party” he had all 20,000 plus on their feet dancing. While Pitbull certainly is a fantastic entertainer, his secret weapon may very well be his dance troupe, known as “The Most Bad Ones.” The six ladies help bring the songs to life with their moves and frequent costume changes. Their interplay with Pitbull is integral to the show. The production of this tour is very similar to the last tour. A large staircase consumes the middle of the stage, giving the performers a platform to perform on and giving the dancers a place to disappear between songs. The enormous video walls show content for each track. These mainly come in handy when Pitbull performs his many collaborations. Over the course of the night Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, Ne-Yo and more were featured on the screens. Pitbull also paid tribute to reggaeton pioneer Daddy Yankee with a stellar version of “Gasolina.” He brought out up-and-coming country artist Filmore for a new track entitled “USA.” The song had the majority of the crowd chanting by the end. In total, he played over twenty songs in just under two hours. He is a hell of an entertainer.
Opening act Iggy Azalea… what can be said? Let me start by saying that I am a fan of her music. Let me also say that I understand that using backing tracks to supplement a live performance is becoming the new standard. If an artist wants to sing over an instrumental track and not bring out a live band, I understand. What I don’t get is rapping and singing over the original recording. There were times were Azalea would pull the mic away from her face mid-verse and stop moving her mouth, yet her vocals continued. Maybe I am asking too much, but could you at least PRETEND that you’re actually performing? That being said, she is entertaining. Flanked by four dancers she ran through a fifty minute set highlighted by her hits “Fancy” and “Black Widow.”
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