Jay-Z BP3 Tour At The TD Garden In Boston Concert Recap

As reported by Lauren Carter at the Boston Herald

(Thursday, March 11) For roughly two hours, the God MC delivered one of the liveliest sets in recent memory, rolling out a staggering parade of hits to a sold-out crowd of more than 15,000.

From the time he rose up out of the floor for “Run This Town” to the close-out track “Encore,” his delivery stayed clear and crisp. Longtime hype man Memphis Bleek flanked Jay-Z for the majority of the set, but his presence was more of an interesting addition than a necessary support, as Jay-Z ruled stage with seemingly effortless cool.

Backed by a live band, Jay-Z performed several tracks off “Blueprint 3,” including a spirited “On to the Next One,” “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)” and “Empire State of Mind,” which featured Bridget Kelly on fill-in duty for Alicia Keys.

The night’s set list spanned his 14-year career, with hits such as “99 Problems,” “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It to Me)” and the hyperspeed “Jigga What, Jigga Who” appearing alongside a few a cappella segments that spotlighted his lyricism in case fans were overdosing on hooks. Diamond signs came out for a thunderous “Public Service Announcement.”

The set was long but never monotonous. To shake things up, opener Trey Songz appeared for hook duty on “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)” and “Already Home.”

Minutes later, Young Jeezy rose up out of the floor for “As Real As It Gets” wearing roughly 17 chains, then took over the stage for his own set, playing counterpoint to Jay-Z’s East Coast sound with grimy, crunk-flavored hits including “Who Dat,“ “Put On” and “My President is Black,” Jay-Z’s cue to reappear.

The closing segment of Jay-Z’s set was a virtual victory lap, as he transformed the venue into a nightclub and ran through snippets of about 20 hits, from “Money Ain’t a Thing” and “Can I Get A” to “Big Pimpin’ ” and “Hard Knock Life” before turning the spotlight on the crowd and acknowledging fans.

As reported by James Reed at the Boston Globe

Jay-Z’s energy alone kept the crowd in his pocket, starting with “Run This Town,’’ and his insistence on having a live band makes a huge difference, ensuring that his performances crackle and quake with thunderous bass and beats. A trio of horns infused some soul into “Heart of the City,’’ while “99 Problems,’’ “Swagga Like Us,’’ and “Empire State of Mind’’ rang out as the expected sing-alongs (with Bridget Kelly ably filling in for Keys on the last).

At the end of the exuberant two-hour set, when Jay-Z said it was the best show he had ever had in Boston, you believed him. The feeling was mutual.

Young Jeezy, the night’s second opening act, was almost all bark and no bite. Sometimes his music, cued by a DJ, dropped out with the intention of the audience finishing the rhymes, but too often the crowd wasn’t up to the task.

Meanwhile, R&B singer Trey Songz was the flip side to his tour mates, a hypersexual lover man in thrall to the sound of ladies screaming his name. He was so enamored with them that at one point he invited a woman onstage and poured what appeared to be champagne into her mouth. Only a guy this smooth could get away with a pick-up line as tired as this one: “Can we make love?’’ Audience survey says: Yes.

Full article/reviews here:
Boston Herald - Jay-Z dazzles in diamond of show
Boston Globe - Jay-Z shows he’s not the retiring type

more fan shot footage below.



(video footage courtesy of Hot 106.3 Boston & 2021Drew)

Jay-Z's BP3 2010 Tour dates:

Mar 12 Uniondale, NY - Nassau Coliseum
Mar 14 Detroit, MI - The Palace of Auburn Hills
Mar 16 Pittsburgh, PA - Mellon Arena
Mar 18 Chicago, IL - United Center
Mar 19 St. Louis, MO - Scottrade Center
Mar 20 Indianapolis, IN - Conseco Fieldhouse
Mar 22 Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
Mar 24 San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion
Mar 26 Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center