Rihanna’s “Last Girl on Earth” tour stops in Miami
July 31, 2010
American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
Written by Kate Dingle
Even though South Floridians have already gotten their annual taste of pop princess Rihanna (she played a free show on South Beach in February), Miami was more than happy to welcome her back with open arms Saturday night as her Last Girl On Earth Tour rolled into the American Airlines Arena.
Although the show wasn’t sold out, when the house lights finally went down the electricity in the building was undeniable. And when the woman of the hour finally emerged from behind a wall of video screens clad in a sort of space age evening gown (complete with LED lights attached), fans seemed to immediately forgive her for going on nearly 45 minutes late. As the music slowly began and the 22 year old Barbadian eased into “Russian Roulette”, the entire arena sat in the palm of her hand. But things did not stay slow for long as she plowed right on into “Hard”; complete with a hot pink tank, and yes, that signature Mickey Mouse style hat from the video. The more she straddled her gun, the more the guys fell in love with her and the more the girls wanted to be her. For one lucky fan, the performance of “Shut Up and Drive” was the opportunity of a lifetime. As a beat up car sat in the middle of the stage, the woman was picked by Rihanna herself to go up and release a bit of frustration. As the singer stood off to the side with the woman’s camera, she handed her a baseball bat and told to let loose. How’s that for anger management?
After blazing through “Disturbia”, “Rockstar 101”, and “Rude Boy”, things were slowed down as her backup singers and two guitarists joined her as she retreated to her tank for snippets of “Love The Way You Lie” (sorry, no Eminem) and the current B.o.B and Hayley Williams hit, “Airplanes”. Other set highlights included “Te Amo”, “Hate That I Love You”, “Unfaithful”, “Rehab”, “Don’t Stop The Music”, and the Sheila E hit “Glamorous Life”.
Party girl of the moment Ke$ha opened the show. Her set, which included her smash hits “Tik Tok” and “Your Love Is My Drug”, was 30 minutes of sheer entertainment and ridiculousness (but in a good way). Saturday night, Rihanna proved that she is the quintessential entertainer. Her show was over the top and exciting and everybody seemed to crave more and more. And the more fans wanted, the more she gave until we were sure that she couldn’t give anymore. It was clear that she loves Miami and that Miami loves her. And besides, if she were the last girl on earth, I’m sure there wouldn’t be very many complaints.
Photos by Christina Mendenhall
KE$HA
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