“The Trilogy” Tour Gives Jubilant Flashbacks Of the Latin Explosion Era
1999 was a great year, specifically for music. I can clearly remember the Latin Explosion era that was spearheaded by young heartthrobs and newcomers that helped shape the landscape of what we would accept and appreciate as “international” music. Fast forward twenty-five years, multigenerational global powerhouses Enrique Iglesias, Ricky Martin, and Pitbull who are known for their incredible blends and versatility of musical genres, announced they are joining forces with a one-of-a-kind arena run across North America this fall.
Saturday night, October 14 was opening night for “The Trilogy” Tour at the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC, and it brought out every tia, prima, mama, and even abuela within a 60 mile radius for the sold-out show! This was the first time that Ricky, Enrique and Pitbull had all toured together on one bill, and event played out more like a celebration of life than your standard pop concert.
With the tour consisting of three names that are all huge on their own right, it was appropriate that this was put together as a co-headlining tour, and Mr. 305 himself was up first at bat. Everyone knows Pitbull as the quintessential party man, so it was no surprise that his entire set would emulate that of an epic night out at your favorite SOBE night club. There couldn’t have been any better way to open up his show than with “Don’t Stop the Party.” Dressed in his signature all black suit, for the next hour he along with his six beautiful dancers would get the energy pumping and have everyone sweating. Let’s keep in mind, that he technically is serving as “the opening act.”
At one point he mentioned that it was an honor to be on the road with Ricky and Enrique and was thankful for the opportunity, but although he had the least seniority out of all the performers that night, he absolutely was still able to hold his own. With the setlist canon loaded with “Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor),” “Hotel Room Service,” “International Love,” and “Fireball.” With all of his solo hits that he has under his belt, he still took the chance to give a little love to a few of the songs that he’s been a featured artist on, and if you think about it, he’s been on A LOT of radio hits over the years. It was refreshing to hear snippets of Usher’s “DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love” and J.Lo’s “On The Floor.” The energy filled set ended with one of his biggest hits to date, the Ne-Yo assisted “Give Me Everything.”
Next up, Enrique Iglesias’s “Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You)” would be the catalyst to enter us into the hallway of hits that he’s been churning out since 1996. As the lyrics to the song played out “Tonight I’m F**cking you“, I heard one woman scream “papi, give it to me!” and that would pretty much the be the kind of vibe that would carry on for the rest of the night.
His band definitely made sure that the integrity of his catalog of music was intact to how we all remembered it, especially on big hits “Bailamos,” “Escape,” and “Hero.” Midway through his set, I noticed some lights drop from the rafters to illuminate Enrique and a few of his band members on a “B section “stage situated in the center of the arena. This would the portion where he was able to get more up close and personal to the crowd, especially since the bulk of the songs that he performed out here were all in Spanish.
Fans got to chance to take home a literal keepsake from the show, when balloons with his initials bounced around the bowl while her performed the last song of the night “Bailando.”
It was more than three hours into the show before Ricky Martin appeared on stage, but everyone was still as supercharged as if it were the first hour. Opening his set with a “Pégate,” it only gave a glimpse into what were to be in store for. His entire set was an upbeat experience that just made you want to get up out of your seat, especially being accompanied on stage by seven dancers that helped matched the energy of “María” and “Shake Your Bon Bon.”
The show had everything to offer, an insane lighting package, moving set pieces, steam canons, and a huge LED video wall, but as the consummate showman that he is, Ricky just refused to be outshined. His female followers practically stan his hip shaking abilities, and he made sure to bring that front and center as part of his performance piece, particularly on “She Bangs.” Things eventually slowed down a bit during his more traditional latin segment, that allowed his vocal prowess to shine through on song “Tu Recuerdo” and “Vuelve.”
As a final curtain call, he performed the two songs that put him on the map as a crossover artist “Livin’ la Vida Loca” and “The Cup of Life” as the Cap One arena erupted in the loudest cheers of the night.
