At the very outset, lemme say this was a very average concert. I have 100% been to way better ones. And despite me liking some of Enrique’s songs, this concert was a big let-down. Not worth the cost of tickets and all hajampatti at all
We had booked tickets for this concert back in July thinking of all the amazing songs Enrique had, and that for SURE he will perform those songs in the concert.
The Hajampatti
NPG India had booked tickets before I did, coz I couldn’t book the tickets on time on the District app. These fuckers1 first released tickets for 30th October which everyone else booked. In June or so. Then they released tickets for 29th October. I asked Neeti which date to book for, coz both dates were available. BUT she also got confused2, and told me book for 29th. So I did.
When we got the bands from District, I posted on our Whatsapp group that I got the tickets, being the excited soul that I am3. THEN pata chala that I had booked the wrong dates. And since then there was constant back and forth and me trying to sell my tickets for 29th and get 30th ka tickets, so that I can then buy the extra tickets Krishna had for 30th. She had a total of 6 tickets, 4 GA and 2 VIP. idk why she had so many tickets but oh well.
Though to be honest, I think it was good for Naqu and I to have some alone time. I also could be a bit less conscious, and Naqu ka energy is thoda intoxicating, so I also would be able to jig along with her a bit without feeling awkward. Which I did.
So, Naqu and I ended up going alone on 29th, hoping for happy memories and a brilliant time.
The Concert… or lack thereof
Not as much crowd as I expected to be honest. But a lot of Gen Z don’t know about Enrique anyway so is cool.
It took us about an hour and a half from our home to the concert grounds. Fucking Mumbai traffic man, and the BKC area itself is horrible. Once we got there though, we instantly dove into the food area coz we were thoda hungry. We got to the venue at around 7:15pm, by then the two opening acts were already over 4. For about an hour after that, we were waiting in line to get our food, Chicken Shawarma & Chicken Hummus Salad. Took ages for that to come too, coz of some mismanagement from the stall owners themselves. By 8:30, we were done eating and were just sitting around. Naqu even took an office meeting till then and got nice commendation for her work before we came to the concert. Nice start.
Enrique babu was supposed to come in at 8, but he arrived fashionably late at 8:40. Thik hai, star hai bhai5. And started with some… spanish song.
sigh
Naqu was still vibing, getting in the zone herself. Bless her soul.
We were standing in the middle of the GA section, with some tall dudes ahead of us. So we couldn’t see the stage much. We were near some big LED screens, so saw the rockstar and his band from there a lot of the time. My biggest issue was the NUMBER OF CELL PHONES OH MY GOD. The dude has just come and EVERYONE took out their cell phones. Seriously… there should be some sort of ban on cell phones in concerts at least. So bloody irritating. For a large part of the first half an hour, I toh was seeing a lot from some rando ka mobile screen only.
He soon played Bailamos, which was nice. Yeh pata tha thoda. Though I think he did it a lot in spanish. Or I couldn’t tell, the audio quality wasn’t the best. It was pretty much shit, the audio quality. Then he switched to another spanish song. Chutya.
Heartbeat was next, which we knew so yay. Uspe poora crowd was vibing. Then he did another weird spanish song. Then one more. Then another. I really couldn’t tell when one started and one ended. Ek toh gaana pata nai, upar se language pata nai.
And the whole time, his method of engaging with the crowd was screaming “What’s up Mumbai!” and randomly going to his knees and giving sajda to the crowd. What a fucking joke. Kuch marathi mein bol deta, one word at least.
He did Tonight I’m Fucking You, which again the crowd lapped up. Naqu and I too. I think first time sober I jigged with someone. Naqu and I were obviously screaming the chorus with the crowd coz we are vulgar people.
Then brother had to do some Spanish stuff. Great. At least he squeezed Escape in the middle.
Naqu and I kept shifting around, coz some people around us getting too drunk and outta control at times, and sometimes a tall dude would just come and stand in front of us. We didn’t wanna go too ahead coz getting back would be a pain then. Soon, we were a bit sweaty and wanted some H2O. And that’s when we found a weirdly secret entrance to much more open GA area and that’s where we spent the rest of the concert. One of the district workers gave Naqu a balloon there, which was adorable. While there, he started with Hero. To which I say,
Then, followed that up with Bailando
Then I Like It.
Then.. some spanish song again.
And then.. he just said “Thank you Mumbai!” and.., left. For a good 5-7 mins I was totally thinking he’s coming back. That was such.. an abrupt ending. What the fuck.
After the… concert
Took us another hour to get an Uber out of BKC. Coz of the crowd, obviously we were not getting rides easily, and also BKC is fucked up in the case of rickshaws. BKC aate hi chutye bann jaate hai idk why.
Naqu and I had planned to go to Cray Craft coz she wanted to take me there since ages. She only ordered (ekdum fatafat haan), and everything we got was awesome af. Brightened up my mood after the disaster that Enrique had wrought. Highlight was the Chicken Crispy (It was called something asian, but fuck it), and the Veg Tempura Sushi. Bao aate aate we were thoda full, but the bao was also really really good. Great experience really there.
Final thoughts
Yeah, I’m not as big a fan of Enrique anymore. And I will be way more mindful in picking concerts going forward. Best part honestly was that Naqu was a brilliant BRILLIANT sport about everything, and she was very honest that she is coming just for me. And while initially I was not okay with that, I understood and tbh I really respect her way more for coming and vibing the whole time. Not a single complaint I got from her about the mishap of a concert this was. Nothing about the hajampatti that happened. We danced, ate good food, walked around, spoke about this concert part of our lives, and despite being extremely tired, I got a nice kiss before sleeping. I would say this was a great great time, just the main concert6 was horrible. At least Somebody’s Me baja leta. RHYTHM DIVINE YAAR.
Fuck you Enrique, and I love you Naquiyah Bharmal-Moiyadi. Really. You won’t be reading this note probably, but I am thankful for every moment we have together.