Bad Bunny Takes D.C.’s Capital One Arena by Storm (Review)
For his "Most Wanted Tour," Bad Bunny embraced the persona of a Western-style outlaw on the run, even riding in on a horse.
Love ran deep last night between Bad Bunny and his fans, who filled the Capital One Arena from the floor up to the championship banners. The crowd’s passion for the artist and his music was punctuated with the roar of recognition that greeted the first notes of every single song.
Deafening screams greeted Bad Bunny, too, as he made his entrance rising from beneath the stage to a live orchestra playing the Bond-style overture of “Nadie Sabe,” the opening track on the rapper-singer’s latest LP, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana (No one knows what will happen tomorrow).
His “Most Wanted Tour,” which supports the album, is about midway through its trek across North America. It casts the record-breaking rapper — Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, or simply Benito to the faithful — as a Western-style outlaw on the run. He’s “most wanted” by his fans and his haters, apparently.
The Cap One Arena — scents of cologne and other blissful aromas wafting on the air, pink sombreros and cowboy boot lanyards lighting the dark — leaned unanimously towards loving him. The girls’ night revelers singing along, the date night couples snapping pics, the reggaeton and trap heads bouncing on their seats, and the adorable mom and teen son in the row ahead of us both getting their lives, all partied to a thumping take on “Monaco,” and the EDM delights of “Hibiki.”
The crowd stayed so lit, and Bunny and his sizable troupe of dancers gave so much energy, the show barely needed the frequent pyro and fireworks, though the added visual spectacle suited the Jersey club bounce of “Cybertruck” and booming bass of “Vogue”-sampling track “Vou 787.”
Of course, the outlaw had to address the haters too. His visage pointedly shrouded with a headscarf for much of his time onstage, Bunny remarked that he wakes up every morning to more loose talk about himself. Dancers dressed in black hoods and troll masks drove home the point (although, in general, the ensemble mostly served as queer-friendly background).
The gossip and negativity might add motivation, said Benito en español, but his true motivation to do what he does comes from within.
Maintaining his rock star aura throughout the night, that was about as openly as he discussed offstage life. Riding in on an actual horse to perform “Telefono Nuevo,” the sometime actor and wrestler resumed his stance as a superheroic Latin superstar. Dressed as a lucha caballero, dripping in gold chains, he was lifted on a stage to an illuminated catwalk suspended from the ceiling.
From his perch on the catwalk, Benito could come closer to his fans for a strong, flowing rendition of “Vuelve Candy B,” before descending for an acoustic set. Accompanied by a grand piano, Benito milked every heartfelt moment of “Gracias por Nada.”
The man loves a pregnant pause, and he was good at holding the audience in his silent thrall as well as with his songs.
By the time Bad Bunny finally broke out a few hits from his billions-streaming previous album, Un Verano Sin Ti, he had full-grown hardcore rap dudes shouting his name, “Be-ni-to, Be-ni-to, Be-ni-to!”
Bad Bunny: Most Wanted Tour (★★★★☆) gallops across North America to cities including Brooklyn (4/11-13), Boston (4/17), Philadelphia (4/19), Louisville (4/22), Austin (4/26-27), Houston (4/30-5/1), New Orleans (5/7), Atlanta (5/14-15), Orlando (5/17-18), and Miami (5/24-26). Visit www.mostwantedtour.com.
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