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I’ve wanted to publish a blog about this topic for about the past 6 months, and finally, I'm able to put into words how amazing the experience was.
It was the end of June last year, and Tainy had just dropped his debut album titled DATA, which raised the bar for what an album should be. It featured songs such as “PASIEMPRE” with Jhayco, “MOJABI GHOST” with Bad Bunny, “COLMILLO” with Young Miko, and “PARANORMAL” with Alvaro Diaz. All of the songs on the album were perfectly planned out to build out the narrative of a woman called Sena who had lost all her memories, and she would slowly remember them as the album progressed. At the end of the album, we have the beautiful song called “SACRIFICIO,” which ends with Sena waking up and remembering all her memories. I’ve had DATA on repeat since its release, especially during those first few weeks.
I had planned a trip back to Puerto Rico just a week after it came out, and I had brought a friend from Chicago with me to experience a little bit of the island. He had never heard about Tainy before but expressed great interest when we were playing his new album in the car, at the Airbnb, and on the beach.
Once we got back from the trip, he told me that he wanted to go and see Tainy live. I had told him that he was more of a producer than an artist and had never done a concert. However, luckily for us, Tainy intended DATA to be his first big break into becoming more than just a producer; it was a transition into an artist. At the beginning of October, Tainy announced his first-ever concert titled “DATA LOADING” at El Coliseo in San Juan, PR, to take place on January 5, and we immediately bought tickets for it.
I was so inquisitive to find out how he would make the concert work as a producer as he does not perform in any of his songs, but I understood his plan once I realized there was only one concert date. In Puerto Rico, whenever any artist decides to have a concert at El Coliseo, they are expected to bring at least 3 or 4 guests to their show. So I assumed that Tainy would at least bring everyone featured on his album DATA, but he has collaborated with so many other artists in the past that it was utterly unpredictable who he would bring.
One artist seemed 100% certain of being there as they are featured on three songs contained in DATA. Bad Bunny was featured on “MOJABI GHOST,” “Lo Siento BB:/,” the album’s first lead single, and finally, the most important one, “PASIEMPRE." “PASIEMPRE is important because he is not listed as a feature on the song, but his verse comes in at the very end fully by surprise.
The day of the concert came, and once we got to the venue, we realized that nobody knew what Tainy would do since something like this had never been done before in Puerto Rico. Everyone had different guesses on who was going to show up and what Tainy was going to do with his massive repertoire of songs.
The stage was a square in the middle of the venue with screens all around it that included a box displaying visuals that could go up or down. Tainy would be inside this box when he started the concert's first part.
At the beginning of the concert, the lights dim, and we see Sena introduce herself to the audience. She mentions how she lost her memories and how she needed to load the data to remember. Tainy starts to begin a set where he plays over 100 of his produced hits from old school to new school. Songs from artists such as Hector El Father, Wisin y Yandel, Daddy Yankee, Ozuna, Rauw Alejandro, Bad Bunny, and more.
After this set, Sena comes out once again, and we are given more information about what’s coming next. She announces the first artist to be featured, Arcangel. From now on, when Sena comes onto the screen, it means that she is about to describe or name the next artist to come on stage.
Arcangel comes out on stage and starts singing some of his favorite songs produced by Tainy.
Sena pops onto the screen and tells us our next artist on stage, Alvaro Diaz. At first, I only had half heard the name and was shocked when I first heard the melody of "Llori Pari" and the iconic line of "Alvarito y Ferxxo." After that song, he played "PARANORMAL" off Tainy's album.
Sena appears again on screen and starts telling us about the upcoming artist. We are being told this person has energy that is very hard to control once let loose. Sena leaves, and all of a sudden, the track to "VOLVER" starts playing, and Rauw Alejandro steps onto the stage. Rauw's performance was full of energy and dancing as he loves not only to sing but create a show for his fans. Tainy and Rauw proceeded to play many of the hits they collaborated on such as "Pensandote," "DIME QUIEN????," and "Party." Oddly enough, they decided not to play Rauw's second feature on DATA called "Sci-Fi".
Xantos
Sena comes onto the screen and introduces us to our next artist, Young Miko! I had not seen her live yet and was beyond excited. "COLMILLO" starts playing, and she appears on stage and starts singing. Once it gets to Jowell & Randy's verses, they join her to sing. This performance had so much energy in it, especially from Jowell y Randy. After the song finished, Jowell & Randy used this time to announce their own concert at El Coliseo to be held in December this year.
Sena appears and tells us that something is coming; suddenly, we see graphics of what appears to be Jhayco connected to many machines and lying down with his eyes closed. There is a loading bar that is slowly filling up, and eventually, once it hits 100%, the lights go dark, and Jhayco appears on stage to start singing. He starts off with "FANTASMA | AVC" and continues with hits such as "Como se Siente," and "Imaginaste."
After "Tarot," he then asked the crowd to help him out with a song. He proceeded to start singing his most recent solo hit, "Holanda," in acapella.
Sena shows up and announces that Kris Floyd is the next invitee. He then proceeds to sing "si preguntas por mi," which was one of my favorite songs off the album. As the song is almost done, Judeline comes onto the stage to sing her part of the song. Her and Kris' vocals combine incredibly, making this one of my favorite moments of the concert.
Luny Tunes & El Arma Secreta
Sena appears once again on the screen and says that we are still missing one specific artist, but we don't have enough energy to load their DATA just yet. The lights dim and Sena leaves and Jhayco, Arcangel, and Omar Courtz come up to the stage to sing "PASIEMPRE". The three of them and Tainy go on to sing the song together for the first time and the audience is loving it. Once Arcangel's verse was over they started thanking everyone for coming to the concert, but there was still a one final verse missing from the song.
As Arcangel finished his verse, they all went onto the center platform and descended down beneath the stage. The lights turned back on, but people mostly stayed in their seats because something did not feel right. One minute later, our light bands lit up and were blinking blue. Once this happened everyone knew what was going to happen next. As mentioned earlier the song ends with a surprise feature from Bad Bunny. The lights started dimming once again and smoke started to emanate from the stage. The platforms went down and another minute later, we hear “Ey, Ey” and the crowd goes absolutely insane. Bad Bunny and Tainy start going up the platforms while Bad is doing his verse.
Once he is done singing his verse, the next song up is "RLNDT" from his album X100pre. This was the first time he had ever played the song in full, as he has only ever played a short cut of it as an intro during his X100pre tour. He used most of the song to give massive shout outs to Tainy and his career.
Next song was "La Santa" from his album YHLQMDLG
Next song was "120" from his album EL ULTIMO TOUR DEL MUNDO
Next song was "Callaita" from Un Verano Sin Ti
And finally, he proceeded to play a song live for the first time ever, from his new album "Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va Pasar Mañana" and his personal favorite song from the album, "NO ME QUIERO CASAR"
Afterwards, they both descend into the stage and the concert ends. I had fully expected Bad Bunny to announce his Puerto Rico concerts after his set, but I assume that out of his massive respect for Tainy he decided to not do it. He eventually announced the dates on his birthday 3 months later. I'll be attending it and writing a blog, which might be longer than this one even as his shows in Puerto Rico are completely different from his shows in the United States.
Overall Tainy used amazing story telling, atmosphere, people, and effects in order to create the best concert that has ever been held at El Coliseo. I'd say the only other concert that comes close was Bad Bunny's "Un Verano Sin Ti En El Coliseo" in 2022. Time will tell if upcoming concerts such as Eladio Carrion's "Sol Maria Tour" or Bad Bunny's "Most Wanted Tour" will be able to top such an amazing experience created by Tainy. I do hope Tainy does another concert in Puerto Rico as he can always invite different artists and create new ideas.