The “ANTI” tour stopped in Tampa, FL featuring Rihanna and her guest Travis Scott. I was lucky enough to find some excellent floor seats on Craigslist and I only had to make out with some dude for a half hour! Ugh, okay a full hour.  But floor seats, alas! 🙂
There is something ever so unique about a Rihanna production. There is this magical sort of ratchetness in the air that seemed to be undeniably contagious (I’m pretty sure there was a 16 year old male child twerking on my back before the show). I hadn’t been to an arena show in sometime. [anecdotal warning] My first real concert ever was Britney Spears’ “Oops I Did It Again” tour, third row, peak hormones and an undying love for the Mickey Mouse club alumni. Now here I am “adulting,” 23, intoxicated, fifth row at Rihanna and my pituitary glands were channeling levels reminiscent of my Britney phase.
I have nothing to compare the show to. I’ve never been to another Rihanna performance, however, I’m guessing it was just as compellingly extravagant when she was on the road in support of her other albums. She came out to “Stay” on the opposite end of the stadium.  She spread her arms as if she was a singing deity and her loyal Navy responded in screams growing by the decibel as she stretched her wingspan wider.  A suspended bridge took her from the back of the stadium to the front, (casual) and then she proceeded with the rest of the show.  It must be comfortable to be able to perform Billboard number one hits for 90 minutes.  The whole show captured almost all of the ANTI album with a list of her soon-to-be greatest hits peppered amongst the set.
The live band was wonderfully filled out by two percussionists and three background vocalists who I’m sure had trouble competing with the back track. Oops! To her credit, she is about to do 70 tour dates across the world with minimal breaks in between, (backtrack justified!). She and the stage changed outfits several times throughout the show which was transitioned smoothly by dancers, guitar solos, and contortionists. Halfway through the show, without any warning, she dropped into “Bitch Better Have My Money,” a highly intellectual song that may or may not be, but definitely, probably is, referencing the sale of illegal drugs. I dig that, song. Another lyric states,
Turn up to Rihanna while the whole club f**king wasted.”
I love modern poetry.
I heard that Rih brought out Drake in Miami the night after we saw her. What the hell?! Also, it’s not fair that I’ve never seen Drake and he has now been mentioned in my last two reviews. In other retrospective news, she stayed after and met fans in Tampa and I left right after the show, like a schmuck. I’d like to imagine that if I had stuck around, Rihanna would have taken notice of my effeminate masculinity and in turn brought me along on tour as her personal shoe tying artist or in-house panini presser. Do you think Rihanna eats a lot of panini’s? If I had to bet money on it — imagine the situation in which I am betting on the frequency of which Rihanna eats panini’s — I would bet that she eats more panini pressed sandwiches than the average person. That is not a dig people. You can literally press garbage in a panini and still make out positive flavor notes. Now that I have ruined a word and sandwich alike, I digress.
Rihanna is an icon. If you are asking yourself whether or not the show is worth attending, I suggest that you stop that really boring discussion, and go. You will be amazed and probably to an extent excited, regardless of your sex, at the show, the music, and most of all the presence of Robyn Fenty aka badgirlriri.
After roughly 60 minutes of the performance, I realized I had zoned out into a booze induced stare so I collected my consciousness and proceeded to secure the second edition of shitty amateur iPhone photos for you.
Well, photo.
Live Concert Review and Photo by Sean Gray. Edited by Sarah Schumaker.
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