It takes one very special kind of person to be crowned Spotify’s most popular artist in the world for three years (potentially a fourth) running, but Puerto Rican Bad Bunny is that person. And it doesn’t take long for his latest live production to get going until you understand why this title is absolutely justified. Last year’s album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS is the rapper-turned-showman’s sixth, and it finds Bunny (real name Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio) taking elements of salsa and fusing them with reggaeton, pop, dembow, bomba and jíbaro. The result is not only his best work to date, but also a homage to his homeland which we’ll look back on in fifty years as one of the defining albums of the century.
Prior to Ocasio’s two sold out nights at Arnhem’s GelreDome (the home of football club Vitesse), he had only appeared in the Netherlands once as headliner of Amsterdam’s PalMundo Festival back in 2019. Given his stratospheric popularity, you’d have thought Ocasio would return to the stadium next door to his first Dutch show, the Amsterdam ArenA; instead, 80,000 people across two nights made their way to the German border for the logistical nightmare that is known as the GelreDome. Starting bang on 8pm (following a set from Puerto Rican opener Chuwi), Bad Bunny guided the stadium through a one-two salsa punch of the hip shaking LA MuDANZA and reworked Callaíta, before launching into a selection of the more salsa-leaning tracks from DTMF. The highlight of this was sonic masterpiece BAILE INoLVIDABLE (preceded by a badass synth solo) and its dembow counterpart NUEVAYoL, where the dancers took centre stage during its intro. There’s something so special about seeing Bad Bunny work these songs in front of a sold out crowd, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he manages to maintain this momentum for nearly three hours straight with the help of a live band, dancers and his own humble self. His back catalogue now spans six studio albums, so there was plenty to choose from as he powered through 31 songs.
Sixteen of these 31 songs were performed from La Casita, a little house in the middle of the crowd with its own little terrace, dancing fans and bar. It was here that Ocasio focussed largely on the pure reggaeton side of his repertoire including banger Títí mi pregunto, the infallible VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR, string-led MONACO and a whole barrage of lasers. There was even room for an exclusive song, 200MPH (which he also performed during his 2019 Amsterdam appearance). Bringing the show to the crowd for such an extended period is a genius move on Bad Bunny’s behalf, allowing the focus to rest mainly on the songs which helped shape his career to date. Sure, there may have been enough lasers to put any action heist movie to shame, but they would have been pointless were it not for a solid soundtrack. Ocasio ended his stint in the crowd with the now-iconic CAFé CON RON and Ábreme paso, both performed together with Los Pleneros de la Cresta, the Puerto Rican plena ensemble who have accompanied Bad Bunny throughout this expansive world tour. They’re a subtle, but vital aspect of the live show both on a visual and a sonic level, and it’s hard to imagine the show without them.
Back on the main stage, Bad Bunny speedran his way through an assortment of career hits, among them the Bomba Estero collaboration Ojitos lindos and a trio of songs with Puerto Rican counterpart Jhayco at his side. The third of these was aptly called Holanda, a Jhayco original which had been wheeled out especially for the occasion. A double-whammy of DtMF and EoO ended the night in style, going from camaraderie-inducing sing-a-long moments from the crowd to ass shaking beats at the click of a finger. Benito’s fingers at that, because if one thing became clear tonight then it’s how easy it is for Ocasio to command the crowd at, well, the click of a finger.
Bad Bunny’s show in the GelreDome transcended genres, cultures and generations while celebrating the rich and beautiful history of Puerto Rico in a way which Ocasio seems to do better than anyone has, or ever will. What on earth he’s going to do next remains anyone’s guess, but for now it looks like the DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS success wave is a wave which Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio is going to ride for quite some time. Photos by Kealey Oosteroom.
