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Manchester residents not aware of the global superstar taking to the arena may have been surprised by the shouts of “Fireball” and “Mr Worldwide” across the train station and trams packed with fans in shirts, ties, bald caps and scribbled goatees from the most committed. However, fans were well aware of the sweaty night and TikTok viral moments ahead of them.
Shaggy started the party with noughties nostalgia, opening with ‘Boombastic’ and constantly hyping up the already packed out crowd. With a cry of “I didn’t come here for the weather, I didn’t come here for the food…I came here for the women”, he gave a swaggering rendition of ‘Hey Sexy Lady’. Closing his set with one of his most popular tracks, ‘It Wasn’t Me,’ Shaggy had everyone with their hands in the air.
Whilst most concerts would now have a break from the entertainment, perhaps a pre-show playlist, here the party was not stopping as DJ Laz kept up the tempo with 2000s club hits featuring LMFAO’s ‘Party Rock Anthem’, Rihanna’s ‘We Found Love’, and even finding time for the ‘YMCA’.
By the time Pitbull launched onto the stage, the crowd had been dancing for at least 90 minutes and had no plans on stopping. Inflatable globes flew around the pit, soundtracked to ‘Don’t Stop The Party’. The word-perfect audience screaming along to the iconic set list, including ‘Hey Baby (Drop It To The Floor)’ and ‘Hotel Room Service’. An initially confusing DJ intermission was soon explained by an outfit change from a leather jacket to a fetching white suit jacket as Pitbull launched into ‘I Feel Good’.
The international sensation turned language teacher; “I want you to leave knowing a new language, I want to teach you some Spanish”, leading a somewhat successful call and response of “Yo no quiero agua, yo quiero bebida” - in English, I don’t want no water, I just want to drink - from his hit, ‘Maldito Alcohol’. Fan favourite, ‘Gasolina’ led to a second DJ set and outfit change, before a promise to “take these beautiful people to the 80s” with ‘Feel This Moment’.
Donning a cowboy hat and leaping across the stage, the full Co-op live arena danced at full energy to ‘Timber’ before ensuring to capture a video of Pitbull’s iconic quote before ‘Time Of Our Lives’; “Life is not a waste of time, time is not a waste of life. So let's not waste any time, get wasted and have the time of our lives.” A combination of sexy dancing, motivational speeches and Pitbull always returning to the same spot to finish each song with a proud grin created a somewhat surreal experience, not to mention whilst being surrounded by Pitbull look-a-likes. Yet, you cannot deny how much joy, nostalgia, and energy were in that arena.
Wolf whistles erupted from the Manchester crowd as Pitbull shared, “You're making me feel like I'm at home, it's hot, it's sweaty, it's sexy”, before one of the most anticipated songs of the night, ‘Fireball’. After sharing a heartfelt story of his journey of not graduating from high school, the impact of teacher Hope Martinez, and the educational establishment he founded, the show quickly flipped back to a blurry club night, closing his set with ‘Give Me Everything’.
A night of non-stop energy from the dancers, band, crowd and Pitbull himself - the ‘Party After Dark Tour’ definitely lived up to its name.
Maisy Neale
