Jay-Z a consummate showman live at Eastern Michigan University
Part of the challenge with artists of Jay-Z's longevity — he has dropped 11 number one albums since breaking onto the scene with "Reasonable Doubt" in 1996 — is finding the happy medium between placating fans who take pride in being there since the beginning, while featuring more recent songs enjoyed by new fans.
But the sold-out crowd at the Eastern Michigan University Convocation Center was game for whatever Jay-Z threw its way. No matter how old, the audience not only stood and danced in support, it sung along the entire way.
After opening acts J. Cole, Wale and N.E.R.D. wrapped up their respective performances, the lights went down. The crowd cheered when the two video screens above the stage relayed that the main event - the reason 8,000 people shelled out $35 to $75 of their hard-earned money - would take the stage in 10 minutes. The crowd counted down the last 10 seconds in unison.Jay-Z wasted no time keeping the crowd amped up, leading off with "Run this Town," piping in Rihanna's chorus and rapping only his verses (Kanye West also performs on the track).
The 90-minute performance afforded Jay-Z enough time to rattle through most of his classics. It's not uncommon for artists who've been around as long as Jay-Z to forget a lyric here or there, but Jay-Z never did. From "Jigga What? Jigga Who?" to "Big Pimpin'" to "Death of Autotune," Jay-Z emptied his catalog.
Jay-Z performs "Jigga What? Jigga Who?" live in London last month:
After a disappointing encore call from the fans - one so understated that Jay-Z's band, the Roc Boys, had to help re-hype the crowd - Jay-Z returned to properly close the show. But he knew he couldn't do it alone, his voice getting raw after about an hour.
"It's getting late," Jay-Z warned the audience. "Y'all got to get home, I got to get home — we could always just call it a night."
The crowd made sure not to disappoint after that, returning to the high energy that Jay-Z had remarked on several times throughout the night.
Before wrapping with "Young Forever," the final track on his latest album, "The Blueprint 3," Jay-Z spent about 15 minutes giving shout-outs to audience members, seemingly trying to thank each individual fan for coming out.
He teased the guys for their outfit choices — "It's tough to take a hard stance in a lime green polo," he joked to one audience member — and complimented the women on theirs.
Shout-outs, Jay-Z said, are his way of showing appreciation to fans who spend their hard-earned money on concert tickets, albums and T-shirts.
Even though Jay-Z wears many hats — musician, entrepreneur, mentor — fitted New York Yankees baseball caps have become his calling card. That was until a fan tossed his Detroit Tigers cap on stage during the shout-outs.
After a night of short speeches on how "a boy from Brooklyn" made it to the heights — and getting the largely Detroit-based crowd to bob along with new hit "Empire State of Mind," with Bridget Kelly standing in for Alicia Keys — it would've been understandable for Jay-Z to return the gift.
He didn't.
He wasn't happy about it, but he put the Tigers hat on anyway.
"I don't do this often, so y'all better take some good pictures," he said before donning the Tigers cap, sideways as always. After mugging for the audience, Jay-Z returned the favor by tossing his all-black Yankees cap to the fan who'd just given up his ball cap.
"Fair is fair, right?"
James David Dickson reports on human interest stories for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at JamesDickson@AnnArbor.com, or Twitter.com/JamesDDickson.
Comments
Ryan J. Stanton
Thu, Oct 22, 2009 : 9:17 a.m.
I appreciated the mostly positive message he had to share. Over and over again, he encouraged the audience to reach for their dreams. At one point he suggested that if there could be a black president and a boy from Brooklyn could surpass Elvis Presley on the charts, then anything's possible. It was quit the ensemble he had on stage, too. Several guitarists, keyboardists, a drummer, an entire horn section and backup singers. Very talented bunch of musicians. And the Manhattan skyline backdrop topped it all off.
MK
Thu, Oct 22, 2009 : 6:35 a.m.
Great concert last nite! I've never been to a concert that started on time. I'm Pissed I missed Wale's performance!