Photo courtesy of Ricky Carioti / Washington Post
As reported by Sarah Godfrey at the Washington Post
(Wednesday, March 3 at the Verizon Center) Despite that rap star entry, he seemed way too mellow during “Run This Town,” “D.O.A” and “On to the Next” from “The Blueprint 3.” Jay, who has been treading that fine line between getting his grown man on and getting his old man on for a while now, took the ultra-cool, laid-back “new Sinatra” thing a bit too far. Is 30 the new 20 or…the new 70? Watching an over-zealous fan rush the stage and get tossed by security was more thrilling.
The lull continued with the new school New York anthem “Empire State of Mind,” as a singer who wasn’t Alicia Keys appeared to sing the hook. Things looked up when Georgia rapper Young Jeezy emerged and the two men dug into “Real As It Gets,” but, again, Jay seemed to be sleep-rapping.
Only in the DMV could Jeezy bring up the energy level at a Jay-Z show. As the rapper said over and over again, quoting “Circulate” from “The Recession”: "They love me out in D.C., just like go-go.” Truth in advertising: the Snowman’s powerhouse solo set included “I Luv It” and “Put On,” which brought the first real insane crowd reaction of the night.
And at that point, S. Carter seemed to realize that he must try harder: when Jay-Z reemerged, he and Jeezy performed the remix of “My President,” followed by Jay’s rousing “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” (preceded by the famous clip of President Obama, on the campaign trail, dismissing haters by brushing the dirt off of his suit jacket).
After “Thank You” from “BP3,” and a fake “goodnight!” Jay announced, “[Expletive] it -- let’s go into overtime,” and launched into a magical set just for fans of 1996’s “Reasonable Doubt,” 1997’s “In My Lifetime, Vol. 1” 1998’s “Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life” and 1999’s “Vol. 3: Life and Times of S. Carter.”
For someone who has been critical of fans who prefer his early material over his new stuff, Hov perked up considerably during “Excuse Me Miss,” “La La La,” “Big Pimpin’” and other older hits. Quiet during the early part of show, he began bouncing around and letting off the little bragging asides he’s known for: “Let me know if I’m going too far back!” “I’ve got a million of these!”
After the classic “Can I Live,” the crowd finally starts chanting “Ho-va! Ho-va!” and for an encore, there was “The Black Album”’s “Encore,” which showed that Hov definitely still has the goods.
Read the full review here:
Washington Post - In concert: Jay-Z
Fan shot video below.
(video courtesy of mikeinbmore & DCABESHA)
Photos:
Getty Images
Flickr - Brandon Wu
Jay-Z's BP3 2010 Tour dates:
Mar 05 Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun
Mar 06 East Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center
Mar 07 Norfolk, VA - Scope Arena
Mar 11 Boston, MA - TD Garden
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
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