May 01, 2006 @ 3:03 pm

La Kalle Spring Blin Blineo 2006

by: Richard Cruz

Sure, reggaetón may be monotonous and there are those who feel the genre has reached its peak, but, tell that to 20,000+ screaming fans in attendance, both young and old, at a packed, sold-out Nassau Coliseum.

The night began incredibly hectic, as arena officials kept most of the excited crowd waiting on line for a long amount of time (reason unknown) even as Puerto Rico’s Alexis Y Fido opened the event. Los Pitbulls ran through their hits “Tiburon”, “Eso Es” and their rendition of the wildly popular “Mayor Que Yo”.

right As about another 10,000 people settled into their seats, N.O.R.E. took the stage with his reggaetón counterpart, Big Mato, and went through his hits including his verse on "Superthug", “Nothin”, and his verse on the remix of “Gasolina”.

While performing his latest posse cut, “Maz Maiz”, he brought out Nina Sky and the “The Ghetto Vaquero”, Chingo Bling, who, with signature cowboy hat and boots, had the crowd on his side with his charismatic performance. Then, Mr. “Hang Hang Sangria” - for those of you who didn't know, yes, N.O.R.E. has his own Sangria! - ended his set by performing “Oye Mi Canto” with Nina Sky at his side.

Ivy Queen, la reina de reggaeton, added some femininity - sort of - to a show full of males. Her set consisted simply of her, a hypeman, and her signature oversized Puerto Rican flag, which appears at all her shows. Performing with a grace exhibited only by veterans, she effortlessly ran through songs like “Te He Querido, Te He Llorado” and ”Dile” and even kicked a few freestyles to the audience's content.

In probably one of the best moments of the night, la diva broke down on stage when the crowd began reciting her lyrics without instruction. She commenced her set by walking off draped in her native flag to the crowd’s heavy ovation.

Contemporary bachata/pop group Aventura helped keep the attention of all the ladies, and added some variety to an otherwise entirely-reggaetón show. Lead singer Romeo kept the females happy as the crowd sang along to all their hits. Sans Don Omar, the group brought our their 5-year-old little homie to perform Don’s lyrics on “Ella Y Yo”, much to the crowd’s amusement (it isn’t every day a little kid gets to tell a grown man that he slept with his wife).

In between sets, DJs Spin One and Precise helped keep the crowd vibrant alongside radio personality and Heavy Hitter hypeman L Boogs, as they waited for the main event. And when Daddy Yankee emerged from backstage, the crowd simply lost it.

Amongst the pyrotechnics and extravagance, Yankee (who featured a Jay-Z-esque swagger), put on a legitimately thorough show, kicking acapella freestyles in between songs both newer (“Machucando”, “Rompe”, “Machete”) and older (“No Me Dejes Solo”, “Mirame”, “Mayor Que Yo”, “Gasolina”).

Although there were no surprise guests, the audience ultimately left satisfied and looking for the after party. At night’s end, concert-goers were convinced of 20,000 more reasons why reggaetón’s popularity isn't going anywhere.