Saturday, February 21, 2015

Pitbull Concert, Red Army Movie

   This evening I went to the Pitbull concert at the Target Center in Minneapolis. He was in the middle of the lineup tonight, after J. Balvin (who I didn't watch at all). I was mainly there to see Pitbull, since I know his music way better than show closer Enrique Iglesias. During the opening act I was trying to find a concession stand selling pizza, eventually I came across somebody in a suit wearing a nametag saying 'Concessions manager' and figured this was a good bet. I said 'Good sir' as my greeting, and was told it was on the lower level. Found out I still had plenty of time before Pitbull took the stage as the opener wasn't done yet and was informed there would a 15-minute break between acts. I had a Freschetta pepperoni pizza. I also went to the bathroom and on a lark decided to get a 'Wild card' item from a vending machine on the wall, costing just 2 quarters, and I had this as change from the pizza. I got a small pliable outline of a dinosaur, for some reason I expected a card since it said 'Wild card'. I will likely find some use for this item, even if it means moving it to the office where it is more likely to be displayed. I get to my seat, somebody is in it, found out they were in the wrong section and they moved right away.
   Pitbull performed for about 90 minutes, I was pleased with this long of a set. I was doing my best to write down key words to recall them and look them up online later, since I know some of his songs but not all. I have 2 of his CDs, 'Planet pit' and 'Global warming', and he played some from both. At first I was not aware of a pattern on having drum solos to introduce songs, but I liked the ones I heard as they were familiar songs and I do like hearing drummers a lot. First was an Ozzy Osbourne or Black Sabbath song. Then it was 'Don't stop the party', I liked the lyric asking who has the key to the world now. Drum solo from Nirvana's 'Teen spirit', then it was the song 'International love'. It was followed by 'Dance again', which mentions Hugh Hefner, the Playboy founder. He spoke of wanting to be a musician and be surrounded by pretty girls due to hearing 'Push it' by Salt and Pepa when he was a kid. Then it was 'Hey baby'. Drum solo, 'Go my way', Lenny Kravitz. Then 'Get it started', I liked picking up the reference to a famous boxing match, known as 'The Thrilla in Manila', Frazier-Ali.  Drum solo, 'Sweet child of mine', Guns and Roses. Then 'Rain over me'. Around this time I think he played 2 songs in Spanish that I wouldn't know. Then it was 'Throw your hands up'. Drum solo, 'Love is strange'. There was 'Men in black' clips, I guess the third one in the series. 'Back in time' was the song. 'The roof is on fire' intro, then 'Fireball'. I think the next one was 'Shake' as the lyrics I recalled were girl get down get low. It was followed by 'I know you want me'. There was a Jenny Lopez shout-out, as it was a song he recorded with her, 'On the floor'. I like the 'Tivoed' lyric in the next one, 'DJ got us falling in love'. Next was 'Hotel room service', then 'Timber' (recorded with Kesha). Drum solo, 'Eye of tiger', known for being in some of the 'Rocky' movies. Then it was 'Feel this moment', recorded with Christina Aguilera. I liked the reference to a famous pro football team, the 1972 Dolphins, as he speaks of how he 'Lost a lot, learned a lot, but still undefeated like Shula'. Don Shula was the head coach. Closing song was 'Give me everything', I liked mention of Kodak and Times Square, also the double entendre on a negative since it refers to camera film as well as turning one's life around. Like Eminem he is a talented rapper, both are real good at word-smithing. And of course he has a swagger, besides just the outfit it is shown in his stage presence. Best example of the swagger was a lyric in 'Feel this moment', where he states 'I own it'. It is likely my favorite song of his. The dancing girls complemented his act well. Much like Rihanna, I think what helps on liking Pitbull is his range as a musician, recording songs with many others. This is evident on both of the CDs I have.
    There was a more than 30-minute wait to see Enrique Iglesias perform after Pitbull was done. I don't know his songs well but I knew some, including the leadoff which was 'Tonight I'm loving you'. A fan was invited onstage for a drink, and he played 'Stand by me', and spoke of how this song helped him through his parents splitting up when he was young. Another one I recognized was 'Got a good feeling', but it was by Flo Rida. I heard a young lady scream with delight in my section when 'Hero' was played. Pitbull returned for the final song, 'I like it', a song he recorded with Enrique.
   There is not many trains on the light rail system after 10pm, but I liked how I didn't have to wait long for one after the show. One fan had walked off with a big balloon from the show, released during Enrique's set. It said 'Sex and love'. A young man was standing near me after I got a seat on the train and I said the seat is available, I don't bite. So he sat down, next to the young lady he was with.
   In the afternoon I went to see a movie at the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis, called 'Red Army'. It was about the hockey team in the former USSR, and there was footage from the 'Miracle on Ice' at Lake Placid in 1980. It was mainly interviewing 'Slava' Fetisov, who was captain for a while and later played in the NHL. I enjoyed this documentary, and after it I got a picture of the theater outside. I recognized the message with the movie title as a Yakov Smirnoff joke, 'In Soviet Russia movie watches you'.
   When I was across the street taking this picture I saw two friends I know from the comedy circuit, Dictionary and the Hillary Clinton look-alike. I think it was the former that called my name. They were on their way to Ragstock, and I accepted their invitation to join them. I said there was a Ragstock in Iowa City, where I went to college, but I didn't go there much. I enjoyed my time with them, as we spoke at length and this opportunity doesn't present itself much at the clubs. I did hear about another Valley Meadows show and I hope to attend it. Then after Ragstock we went our separate ways, I looked around at Cheapo Records and got another Rihanna CD, 'Loud', the one I didn't get on my most recent visit earlier this month. And after getting a sandwich at the Super-America I drove back home where I got a look at the mail I had picked up at my post office box. Three were E-bay orders, two were Charlie Brown and Snoopy items (a comic book and a set of trading cards, showing the characters as a baseball team). The third was a farm implement ad that mentions the Emerson Hough book, 'Covered Wagon'. The one package that wasn't an E-bay order was from my dad, I knew he was sending two of the books but not the third. One was by actor Gene Hackman, a thriller called 'Pursuit'. The other was 'Home front', 'Now a major motion picture' is on the cover but I didn't see this movie. The third brought back a childhood memory as it was a Jimmy Hatlo book, 'Office hijinks'. I recall seeing one of these books when we were cleaning out my grandma's house in 1985. She had a stroke and went to a nursing home, where she died less than four months later.    

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