Reggeaton playing at the highest level, lights flashing upon my eyes, and the crowd, composed of 4,000 people, is singing, screaming, and looking towards the stage. Spectators are tipsy, as the alcohol has kept them hyped for the three hours that they have had to wait for Feid, the main artist. Expectations rise and disappointment grows as the hours pass and he doesn’t show up. The one question on everyone’s minds: why is he taking so long?

On February 28th, Feid’s concert –an urban music artist– took place in El Bloque Naranja, located inside La Mayorista. This event venue is new, so I did not know what to expect, but I was hoping it would be better than La Macarena, a bullring in Medellin commonly used for events, because every time I had attended a concert there, it sucked. At first, solely because Feid was going to take place in La Mayorista, a place known for vegetable wholesale, I refused to go. Then I saw some pictures of the venue and started to reconsider my decision. 

My friends and I really wanted to see Feid, who was a well-known reggaeton singer based in Medellin. However, there were more artists and DJs that sang before and after him. The lineup went like this: Andres Tamayo, a DJ from Medellin that my friends and I had never heard of; Vibarco, a rising star in Medellin that graduated from TCS (so I was actually excited to see him and listen to his songs); Felipe Gomez, another DJ from Medellin, who I knew personally; TUTO, an up-and-coming artist that had two songs in the top rankings of the country; and Nico Rivera,  the best crossover DJ in town. Overall, I enjoyed the artists before and after Feid, as I felt like I knew each song and never felt bothered by their music. The majority of the songs played were reggaeton, and I love that genre. Conversely, I remember the Maroon 5 concert I went to in Bogotá, where I didn’t even know who the “telonero” or opening act was and I did not enjoy his music. 

I have mixed feelings regarding Feid’s actual show. For starters, it took him an eternity to come out. The fact was not that we were bored, but he was the main reason I was there.  In the Zion and Lennox concert, they also took about two hours to come out, making me realize that it’s a trend between Colombian singers. Feid took even longer, probably to make the audience want to see him more, but I still did not enjoy it. After a full three hours, excitement rushed through my body once he got on stage and fireworks adorned his entrance. He began singing “Ateo,” his hottest single. My friends and I went crazy, as we could not believe we had Feid right in front of us. Afterward, he sang another five amazing songs and then suddenly left the stage. It was extremely disappointing that Feid only sang for 50 minutes out of seven hours. This truly downhearted me and my friends. I went to the concert mainly for him and he only sang six songs. These flaws were unacceptable for an urban concert that had Feid as its main poster boy.  

Nevertheless, I have never had better seats than the ones we had at this concert. Even though it was neither easy nor cheap to get these spots, I never regretted it. Since we were a large group – 15 people –we decided to buy box seats. Therefore, we had a lot of space to dance and we were next to the stage. Additionally, bartenders brought all the drinks and food we needed immediately. Until now, I could say this was the best concert I’ve been to, and it only cost me 100,000 pesos. In contrast, I remember the ticket for Anuel and Karol G’s concert cost me about 90,000 pesos, the spots were not comfortable, there was no space, and the gigantic crowd was always pushing me. 

Logistics at concerts stress me out. I always ask myself a variety of questions: is it going to be organized? Am I going to get mugged because of the crowd? Are there people helping out spectators to find their seats? Yet, I have to say that the logistics at this concert surprised me. The entrance to the concert was straightforward. From where the car left us, we had to walk about 50 meters to reach the security filter and ticket check. Concerts in Medellin usually have long lines for security checks, but it only took us five minutes to enter and get our bracelets. From here, we walked about 100 meters and easily accessed the box seats we reserved. For Anuel and Karol G’s concert in La Macarena, the entrance process was a complete nightmare. It took us about 30 minutes to enter, and finding our seats was tremendously hard. Not to mention the exit process, which was nearly impossible because the exit was densely crowded. Also, La Macarena has stairs, worsening the situation. On the contrary, the exit from Bloque Naranja was so uncomplicated I didn’t even notice it. 

Exemplar logistics, astounding artists, an unexpected but surprising location, and unbeatable seats made this night a highlight of my teenage years, but please Feid, try to be on time.