I couldn’t believe the text when I received it. My friend, Evan, invited me to tag along with him and our other friend, Jamie, to see Rihanna at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday, April 3rd. For a second, I thought about the many tasks that were on my plate, but it was Rihanna! How could I not go?!
Evan, Jamie, and I decided to take an Uber to the arena, but unfortunately our driver got lost and took us to New Jersey, so it took an hour for us to get there. Despite the delay, we ran inside to find our seats in section 210 where we had an amazing aerial view. Travis Scott got the crowd pumped up with his motivating words and fun jams, including his hit, “Antidote”. A brief intermission occurred and then at 9:20 p.m. the lights dimmed. It was time.
Draped in a white cloak, Rihanna made her appearance and climbed up to a raised platform while singing, “Stay”. She sounds amazing in her song recordings, but she was ten times more perfect live and looked absolutely beautiful. “Love The Way You Lie” followed and I felt nostalgic.
I hadn’t previously listened to her new album, Anti, so when she performed “Woo” and “Sex With Me”, I couldn’t follow the words, but it was fun learning the songs during the show! Jamie and I were super excited when Rihanna sang “Birthday Cake” as we shook what our mamas gave us. She performed “Numb”, another duet with Eminem, and “Pour It Up”, which made me want to dance even more. When it was time for “Bitch Better Have My Money”, the crowd went wild! The bass was thumping and everyone was in awe of Rihanna’s flawless choreography.
The singer’s inner diva was released during “Pose” and “Consideration” and then she sang a mashup of “Live Your Life”, “All of the Lights” and “Run This Town”. She decided to take it back to 2007 with one of her most popular hits, “Umbrella” and I freaked out! Then, she slowed it down with “Desperado” and “Man Down”, the reggae-inspired jam. Next was “Work” and the entire audience sang along. “Take Care” was performed, minus Drake, unfortunately, and what followed next was a total dance party complete with trippy lights. A “How Deep Is Your Love” and “We Found Love” mashup was introduced and the celebration continued with “Where Have You Been”.
Rihanna also sang “Needed Me” and “Same Ol’ Mistakes” from Anti and then the crowd lit up for a performance of “Diamonds”, one of my personal favorite Rihanna songs. She ended with “Love on the Brain” and “Kiss It Better”, from her newest album and thanked Philadelphia for a wonderful night.
By the end of the concert, I was so satisfied that I got to see one of my favorite artists and it was totally worth the $70 that I paid to attend. Rihanna is such a talented and beautiful person who put on an amazing show and I would highly recommend seeing her when she goes on tour again!