“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.”
Wise words from Pitbull accompanied the showman’s headlining stop of the Party After Dark Tour in Arizona last week. The sold out crowd was already onboard, cheering wildly at every turn as one of the greatest hype men in the world put on the show of a lifetime.
Rapper T-Pain provided the pregame for the night and, in his words, he wasn’t leaving the stage until he knew the crowd was ready for Pitbull’s nonstop partying. The audience was more than willing to keep him up there, even as he battled severe illness to push through all the hits with his DJ. The man is a pure entertainer and he added his own choreography to “Bartender”, “Blame It” and “2 Step”.
The heat was getting to him midway through the night and he lightly roasted Arizona as he mopped the sweat from his beard and kept the party going. Performing all of his most famous features, the crowd was treated to snippets of inescapable 2000s bangers and did their best to keep up with T-Pain’s boundless energy. His set wrapped up with “All I Do Is Win” and Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre certainly felt that energy by making it to this show.
Pitbull emerged through a portal in the stage right into “Don’t Stop the Party” and “Hotel Room Service”, pulling the fans into a thunderous call and response. The preshow experience began with a Pitbull impersonator contest and those fans who have turned dressing up as Mr. 305 into an art form made sure the rest of the audience was just as ready to keep that party going. For his part, Pitbull went through several outfit changes as the night progressed, flanked by his talented and charismatic backup dancers.
No one was having more fun at the show than T-Pain and Pitbull themselves. T-Pain reappeared in a crimson blazer to Pitbull’s bright yellow one for their collaboration of “Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor)”- complete with matching choreography. Mr. Worldwide also pulled out a number of iconic collabs- from Kesha on “Timber” to Usher on “DJ Got Us Falling in Love” to Marc Anthony on “Rain Over Me” and more.
It wasn’t all party however- Pitbull is also very passionate about his network of SLAM! charter schools and took several moments to thank the crowd for their continued support for education by coming to his shows. With one school located in Mesa, Arizona is a huge market and favorite place for the prolific singer and the state continues to show that love every time he makes a visit. Finally, we raised our collective glasses and toasted the end of the night with “Give Me Everything” before the Party After Dark Tour officially concluded its time in the steamy Phoenix evening- it won’t be the last time Pitbull brings the festivities to Arizona and his is not a show to miss out on.
