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It was nearing the end of Pitbull’s sold-out concert at the Saddledome Friday night when the American rapper placed a black cowboy hat on his head.
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It was, of course, partly in honour of the Calgary Stampede, which began its 10-day run Friday night. With a cowboy hat perched on his bald head, Pitbull proceeded to perform a melodic tune he recorded with Kesha back in 2013. With its references to hoedowns and square-dances and a video filled with scantily clad line dancers, Timber may very well be the most country song in Pitbull’s otherwise twang-free repertoire. But, by that point, it’s hard to imagine many in the audience questioning the decision to have the Cuban-American hip-hop star help launch the twangiest show on earth Friday night.
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The 80-minute concert was a wildly entertaining rush of positivity that mixed relentless EDM beats with Las-Vegas showmanship, complete with six showgirl dancers who spent a good part of the concert draping themselves over the 42-year-old rapper.
After an old-school, countdown intro that had Pitbull, his dancers and backup band arrive on stage with a suitable burst of fanfare, the audience was treated to a three-punch hit of the pulsing Don’t Stop the Party, Hey Baby (Drop it to the Floor) and the cheeky Hotel Room Service, which featured the first of many chant-along hooks.
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Yes, it might be easy to dismiss some of Pitbull’s songs, not to mention the super-slick persona, as cheesy-bordering-on-sleazy. At one point, a short tribute to James Brown on the video screen was followed by a relentless barrage of images and footage of the rapper himself. It began to feel like an over-the-top shrine to his ego. Not that this is overly surprising, of course. It is hip-hop, after all. But what helped make Friday night’s performance so endearing was the artist’s seemingly earnest attempts to connect deeply with the audience, particularly the young people, amid all that strutting, twerking, MotherF-bombs and ass-slapping.
Not long after preaching about the universal language of music, he gave an amusing Spanish-language lesson to help the audience with the more latin-flavoured tunes. That vibe hit a high point with the sultry and rhythmic Echa Pa’lla and the fiery Gasolina. He singled out the young people audience — of which there were many, perhaps a testament to the artist’s increasing popularity on TikTok — by pontificating about the importance of self-esteem and ignoring the “haters”. Sure, it occasionally sounded like motivational-speech platitudes, but it there was no doubting Pitbull’s sincerity.
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It actually made the melodic, chant-a-long chorus to Feel This Moment, which seemed to have many in the audience shouting themselves hoarse, legitimately touching. So was Pitbull’s determination to have virtually every number reach a show-stopping climax, which resulted in a number of musical highlights. That included a breathless run through the electronic-dance stomper Jumpin, which is a recent duet with Lil Jon, and an explosive take on the Latin-fused Fireball.
This mix of pounding beats and feel-goodery got off to an early start with Montreal artist Reve, who gamely opened the show with an impressive burst of energy. Flanked by two backup dancers on a spartan stage, the recent Juno winner made the best of her short time in front of a stadium audience with electronic-dance anthems such as All Night and Every Day, Big Boom and CTRL + ALT + DEL.
It’s certainly not the first time Stampede promoters have looked outside the increasingly tiresome realm of mainstream country to entertain the masses. Purists have nothing to fear, there were still far more cowboy hats in the audience than bald caps (FYI: Audience members dressing as Pitbull for shows, complete with kinda-creepy bald caps, is apparently a thing. You can even buy these ensembles on Ebay).
But it proved to be a perfect opener for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth: Unrelentingly positive, energetic and all over before 10:30 p.m. so everyone could get a good night’s sleep before starting again on Saturday.
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