|
|
|
 |
| Photo | Sam Adams |
“If you here tonight, you know you in,” Jay-Z said to a Fillmore crowd packed tight in their finest clubwear. It would have been hard to imagine a hotter ticket, and the fans certainly knew they were in for something rare and privileged. Most had paid through the nose, or risen before dawn to wait in line, or both, since even at face value tickets were well over $100. What that meant in practice was that the Fillmore was wall-to-wall with superfans, anticipating every song from the first downbeat, singing every hook.
He only stopped them once, to finish the a capella coda of “Hovi Baby.” “Can I do this?” he said, although it wasn’t really a question. For a moment, the bona fides were his alone: “Seven straight summers, critics might not admit it, but nobody in rap did it quite like I did it” Then the band — 12 strong, including a three-piece horn section and a trio of backing singers — swung into “Big Pimpin’,” and he gave the song to the crowd, which screamed out every word. “You don’t even need me no more,” he said, then quit the stage as if he’d been supplanted.
It was a ruse, of course, a calculated move like his never-quite-retirement. He closed the show with “What More Can I Say?”, his mildly defeatist mid-career summary, then went immediately into “Encore,” and then to “Roc Boys (And the Winner Is…),” the lead single from American Gangster. Although he was never really gone, it felt like he’d come back anyway.
Gangster, or at least its first half, is his strongest album in years, and Jay-Z seemed to be done resting on his laurels. Over the course of a 100-minute set, he left the stage only briefly, and seemed to get as much out of supporting his comrades as taking the lead. Beanie Siegel, Memphis Bleek, Freeway, Young Chris and Tru Life joined him, sometimes all at once, and while guest spots at hip-hop shows are often the cue to head for the toilets, the increased numbers only raised the energy level.
From the floor, Jay-Z was often blotted out by forest of Roc-a-Fella diamonds and camera phones (perhaps amateur photographers, like professionals, should be held to a three-song limit). But as the crowd stopped snapping and started listening, the set only grew strong. Even as the clock neared midnight, it felt like Jay-Z was just getting warmed up.
More pics after the break...
 |
| Photo | Sam Adams |
 |
| Photo | Sam Adams |
 |
| Photo | Sam Adams |
 |
| Photo | Sam Adams |
 |
| Photo | Sam Adams |
- Activism
- Arts
- — Arts Events
- — Books
- — Dance
- — First Person Fest
- — Last Chance
- — Museum
- — On the Fringe
- — Philly Artists
- — The Curator
- — Theater
- — Visual Art
- — Arts News
- — Artist Profile
- — Arts Preview
- — Street Art
- Been There, Done That
- Big Ups
- Comedy
- — LOL With It
- — Stand-up
- Critical Mass
- DVD
- Events
- Friday Fill-in
- Ice Cubes
- In Memoriam
- Interview
- Just Do It
- Just Opened
- Kaleidoscopic
- LGBTQ
- — Art Phag
- Mailbag
- Movies
- — Film Fest
- — Movie Review
- — On set
- — Scenester
- — screening
- — trailer!
- Music
- — 10 Track Mind
- — Album
- — Album Review
- — Concert Review
- — DJs
- — Local Support
- — Now Hear This
- — One Track Mind
- — Philly Bands
- — Show
- — Somebody Else Was There
- — Song
- — The Showdown
- — concert photos
- — jazz
- — DJ Nights Blogged
- Night Watch
- Now See This
- Poetic License
- Printed Matter
- Radio
- Shopping
- — Coveted
- — Fashion
- — What We Heart
- TV
- — 24
- — Idol Hands
- — Mad Men
- — ProjRun
- — True Blood
- — Useless Lost Recaps
- — Couch Potato
- — Shore Trash
- — Turned ONN
- — TopMod
- Video Games
- — Free Online Game
- — PSP
- — PlayStation 2
- — The 1-Upper
- — Wii
- Web Junk
- — CAGE MATCH
- — Free Online Toy
- Weekend Omnibus
- Win
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
