The finale of the 1-800-TOUR tour was initially supposed to be a chamber concert at the Progresja club in Warsaw. Of course, the tickets were sold out immediately, so someone clever thought that maybe let the boy play alone at the National Stadium, then there will definitely be no shortage of seats. And here’s a surprise, because it ran out. Taco Hemingway was the first Polish rapper to single-handedly sell out the largest stadium in the country, and he put on a truly impressive show there. And you could even hear what he was rapping, for which the sound system team deserves huge praise.
Taco Hemigway and a sold out concert at the National Stadium
When Taco Hemingway looked at the audience filling the National Stadium to the brim, he told us in a concise and picturesque way into the microphone that he was “moved, c**t”. It’s no surprise to him, and I, as a participant of the event, was impressed when those 60,000 throats made the proverbial noise. Then the rapper admitted that when he is on stage, he has to keep his cool and be nonchalant, but after the concert he will definitely cry on his girlfriend’s shoulder about these emotions. And they really turned out great, because the audience had more than just a champagne party. When all the participants sang subsequent songs together, the air vibrated a little, the scale was truly impressive. I think even the biggest skeptic who saw it all would admit this.
It was also endearing that I saw representatives of almost every age group at this concert: there were listeners from the Z generation, there were millennials, and also you, who could easily pass for parents of representatives of both of the previously mentioned generations. However, it warms my heart to see a lady in her 50s who, right next to teenagers and teenagers who are so empathetic, happily jumps in front of the stage and records souvenir videos. As the turnout shows, Taco Hemingway and his works went under the radar. I also think that many people realized that by attending his concert at the National Stadium, they were taking part in a high-caliber, not to say historic, event.
Taco Hemingway at the National Stadium, 22/06/24 photo: Gazeta.pl
It cannot be denied that the organizers of the Taco concert at the National Stadium really tried to make sure there was a lot going on and it was interesting, also visually. Considering that the rapper’s latest album is a concept album written in the form of a radio show on the fictional Marmur station (in short, it is also a reference to his first long-playing studio album “Marmur”), it is not surprising that the setting of the concert was styled precisely with this in mind. Taco appeared on stage as Jeremy. This, let us add for those who have not listened to the album, is the host of a program on Radio Marmur, whose commentary ties the entire album “1-800-OWiedzenie” into a narrative whole. This artistic incarnation also has its visual attributes: a suit, suspenders and wire glasses. The costumes of the dancers wearing suit shirts and trousers with suspenders also referred to this aesthetic.
During the concert, there were also attractions such as golden confetti, soap bubbles with fog inside during a song about holiday inflation and summers that used to last whole years, and now about three weeks, beach ball-balloons arrived for the audience to flip on a piece “Gelato” and bursting flames and synchronous columns of smoke on these more powerful pieces. Of course, a big surprise was also a live connection to the Silesian Stadium, where Dawid Podsiadło played on the same day. The facility’s management estimated that thanks to this, over 150,000 people had fun in two cities at the same time.
Taco Hemingway at the National Stadium 22/06/24 photo: Gazeta.pl
How are the stands having fun?
I had a lot of fun on stage, especially since the sound engineers managed to position the main performer’s microphone so that I could really hear and understand what he was rapping. A very great achievement, because I remember that the concert between Hemingway and Podsiadło was not so rosy. It is true that the other guest rappers performing on Saturday could not be heard so well, and some of the backing tracks were lost a bit, such as during the song “Rain on Concrete”, but considering the acoustic capabilities of the National Stadium, it turned out surprisingly well. How did people in other sectors of the stadium have fun? I asked: – I feel satisfied when it comes to the performance and the show. As for the sound system, not so much. To put it mildly, it is average in the stands and is really far from a decent level. It was a very nice and really long concert. From what I know, it’s actually probably the longest on the route. With a light hand, it lasted about two and a half hours. My girlfriend was at his performance in Wrocław and says that the previous one was shorter, but there weren’t that many guests there either – Kacper, who was sitting in the upper stand, tells me.
– I was happy that it was actually the first sold-out Polish rap concert at Narodowy. The first rapper in Poland managed to do it. I have been in this community for a decade and this was a big event for me. A lot of people gathered there and a lot of rappers made guest appearances: OKI, Bedoes 2115, Otsochodzi, CatchUp, Gruby Mielzky also appeared. There were also guests from outside the rap world, such as Edyta Bartosiewicz and Daria Zawiałow. Daria sang wonderfully and positively surprised me, because I didn’t think she sang so well live. And it was her first performance after a two-month break and a throat disease – Kacper praises and adds: – The whole setting was fantastic, it looked great on stage. Taco really put on a very big show. I’ve been to many rap and rock concerts, and here all these visual elements in the form of fireworks, streamers, visuals on screens, choreography of dancers; it did the job – he describes.
Taco Hemingway’s concert at the National Stadium, 22/06/24 photo: Kacper Tomaszewski
Let us also remind you that Taco Hemingway and Dawid Podsiadło were the first Polish artists to sell out tickets to the National Stadium with a joint concert in September 2019. Later, the singer repeated this feat solo, and Sanah also achieved a similar feat in 2023. Therefore, all three now form an elite group. It is not without reason that after the rapper’s Saturday performance, many fans believe that it was the concert of the year. The artist himself wrote on social media that he was simply at a loss for words and thanked him very much.
What made a special impression on Kacper that evening? – Taco and guests entered the stage on a platform hidden under the floor, and some of them had their own popular attributes: e.g. Taco entered at a desk imitating a fragment of the interior of Radio Marmur, Bedoes entered on a motorbike. It was great! – says Kacper. Let me interject here that Taco Hemigway, after Edyta Bartosiewicz left the stage after their joint numbers, said that his childhood dream had just come true. I must admit that I didn’t think I would ever hear the chorus of the song “Jenny” live, and thousands of people sang here. An electrifying experience for someone raised on music from the radio in the 90s.
Taco Hemingway’s concert at the National Stadium 22/06/24 photo: Gazeta.pl
Of course, it’s not like everything was perfect that evening. – You could see everything well, but, for example, compared to Dawid Podsiadło’s concerts, there were a few screens missing, here there were few of them. It’s a pity that the ones at the very top of the stadium were not connected and only commercials were played there at the very beginning – Kacper noted. As he lives close to the Stadium, he saw lines forming before the concert very early in the morning that same day. Interestingly, the main concert started at least half an hour late, because at 8 p.m., the scheduled start time, there were still queues of people waiting in front of the entrance to the disc. What’s more, the audience did not disperse immediately after the performance. They waited there, hoping that they would meet their idol again. – Some people stood outside the stadium gates after the concert until four in the morning. It wasn’t in vain, because Taco came out to them and took photos with them. But the police also wrote them down because they blocked the exit gates – Kacper told me the story of one of his friends.
Not just fireworks
What is also extremely endearing and absolutely invaluable is the fact that, apart from all these visual fireworks, Hemigway also used the opportunity to express his opinion on socially important issues. First of all, he took up a very intimate challenge and told the listeners about his depression and that for two months this year he had such a difficult time that he was unable to even get out of bed and slept for several hours a day.
– I did something I had never done in my life, which was simply telling my loved ones. I didn’t want to bring it up because I thought to myself: ‘Everyone has their own life, everyone has their own burdens, I don’t want to dump anyone’s baggage.’ But I swear it was so bad that I had to, he explained.
Taco Hemingway’s concert at the National Stadium 22/06/24 photo: Gazeta.pl
– I wanted to appeal to you never to think that you are alone with anything. Always tell your people when you’re depressed, I’m begging you, because it’s exhausting if you don’t tell anyone. […] Remember: never be alone in this, please. It’s not worth it – he appealed, which is worthy and, I hope, beneficial for many of his listeners.
During the concert, a short film study was also shown, which Taco made in cooperation with his partner, Iga Lis. Here, drawing on his experience and recalling how, compared to his peers, he seemed to be an ineffective individual, he advises listeners to sometimes just slow down and think about what they really want to do in life. “I was daydreaming. Well, my girlfriend at the time was bothered by my lack of ambition. I want to write, I told her. But what would you even write about?” she asked. And she was right. Eventually she dumped me, so I wrote an album about broken hearts. I came back to my homeland. And now I am here,” he said. The whole thing was published online by Lis:
“This is not a chase-your-dreams story. It’s just some advice from a friend: don’t optimize. Slow down. Look around, observe. Wander around. Over time, I will draw my own conclusions. Over time, I will show you the path itself. And it will lead you to the real strange places,” Hemingway advised at the end. However, it is significant that together with Bedoes Taco he also rapped the song “Boys don’t cry” at this concert. It’s important because there’s a line there: “Let the boys cry, let the boys know that they’re allowed to feel.” It’s good that 60,000 people heard it at the same time.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
