Tonight we were at the PNE for one of their many musical performances, as a part of their end of summer at The Fair concert series.
My partner likes pop and is fond of upbeat and happy music. Since I’ve met him, he has listened to a handful of artists on repeat over the years, and Flo Rida is consistently one of them. So when I saw the press release, realized that he would be visiting Vancouver, and that the tickets were at such a reasonable price; I quickly scooped up a pair as soon as the box office opened. Fast forward many months later we are finally enjoying those tickets tonight.
Held in the Pacific Coliseum there was plenty of parking on premises, so long as you are willing to pay the $25 fee. Ticket cost includes admission into the PNE, as you do have to clear the general entrance, with an additional scan at the Coliseum threshold with your ticket. For those unfamiliar, this is the stadium that features the Super Dogs during the 2 week run of The Fair.
You can purchase drinks at one of their multiple bars, and there are plenty of washrooms available for shorter queues; making this a consumer friendly venue.
Flo Rida came on fairly promptly, but we were busy pregaming in the parking lot, shot gunning cans to save money. So between that and having to find the stadium, we ran tardy. And while the concert played our seats were hard to find.
We were seated at the lower bowl on the left hand side, with a great diagonal view of the stage and all its televised screens.
Flo Rida came with his entourage, which included two male co-rappers, a female vocalist, two dancers, a DJ; and a live band with guitar, drums, and base.
In his hay day Flo Rida was featured on a lot of songs, so made sure to give us snippets of the hooks to remind us of that. Although, in actuality we were not here for the singing, but the show instead.
I recall seeing him in an interview where he unabashedly admitted that he makes music to make people feel good, that he is not trying to be “hard” or “cool”. And that absolutely held true today as he did well to hype up and pander to the crowd.
There was plenty of crowd engagement as he knew the buzz words and catch phrases to get people going. “Vancouver” was mentioned a lot and the need to rely on your “bestie”.
He sang about drinking and offered shots to the crowd. He even sprayed them with “champagne” at one point.
Audience members were invited on stage to sing and dance with them. They called all the girls, just the birthday girls, the guys representing, and even the young preteen girls got their moment on stage. He gave them microphones to sing into, and not everyone had the vocals for it. He shared his spotlight with fans who wanted to “move, shake, and drop what their mama gave”.
To his credit he was able to cultivate an inclusive and safe space for everyone. So much so that they were willing to bum rush the stage when given a chance, and while on stage perform to their heart’s content. From our seats we saw attendees run and jump on to the partition to clear the boarder and making their way to the stage from the bleachers.
Everyone was a frenzy as he and his back up rapper were carried into the crowd, performing for specific sections and giving high fives to as many people as possible as he travelled.
He made a point to recognize the sold out show and thank everyone for making him feel like a “rockstar”. He gave away two pairs of signed shoes, one shoe per person. And even tore off his shirt to toss it into the crowd. Then after, at the end of the show he stayed on stage to give autographs and take photos with gracious fans.
Honestly, this was a feel good, all ages concert with lots of hype, energy, and puns leading into each song from hook to hook. An entertaining show with nostalgic music that delivers.
Pacific Coliseum
100 N Renfrew St, Vancouver, BC V5K 4W3
(604) 253-2311
pne.ca
