No, it's not the new motto of Flaunt, but is it ever catchy! Last week, the Shakira concert was incredible to watch - bringing together spanish, english and french speakers in one venue to enjoy a night out.
With the Bell stadium packed, Shakira performed a mix of old, new and unreleased hits, in spanish and english. The first day of her official tour seemed to be executed flawlessly for the most part and was entertaining to say the least. While at the concert, it was interesting to observe how it was happening around us: everything from the admittance of spectators to the Bell centre, to Shakira coming on stage, to transitions between songs.
When we arrived, the lineup to get in to the Bell Centre literally spanned a block. No one knew where the end of the line was and finally, someone mentioned another door near the metro. Crowd Control people! Crowd Control! It was a friendly environment, though, and no harm was done by having to wait. ie: It was not the end of the world.
Upon arrival, we quickly made our way to our seats for an 8:00 PM start time. Which didn't happen. Not sure what the circumstances were, or if it was due to the void of an opening act, Shakira did not actually dim the lights and come on stage until 9:00 PM. Don't know about you, but that one hour would definitely have added an hour of productivity to my day!
But when the concert started, my was it fantastic! Shakira entered the stage by coming in a side entrance in the crowd. Her pink tool dress was eye catching, feminine and bold - all things that define her in any fan's eyes! Security escorted her up to the stage while she schmoozed with her fans along the way, and proceeded to sing a high energy lineup of hits in english and spanish. At one point in the show, she even brought 4 girls on stage to teach them how her Hips Don't Lie, and how their shouldn't either. Although this part was not interactive with the audience, I'm sure those 4 girls have something to tell their kids!
From an entertainment standpoint, I must say I expected more. Not to say that the concert was bad by any means; however how can anyone beat a Janet Jackson concert? When the expectation is for 12-15 talented, amazing looking dancers, one does not receive at a Shakira concert. With maybe three costume changes total, and two backup dancers who work part-time (ie: they only came out at the end of the show), the Shakira concert definitely had space to improve from an entertainment standpoint. It is good to keep this in mind because in such a large venue, the crowd really has to feel excited and drawn in to keeping the energy levels high.
And then she sung Loca. And that song for me sealed the night! It was great to hear a song not yet released, and one almost felt favored and unwilling to share this song that was heard that night. Between Loca and Gypsy, the concert quickly moved up my list of faves.
So no, although she is no Justin Timberlake, and does not have the entertainment value of a legend such as Janet Jackson, I believe that Shakira did a nice job of balancing the english with the spanish, the old with the new and putting on a good quality and safe show for all.
The huge white (might I add extremely creepy) face that was the only set decoration is not included for souvenir purchase ;)
