Lady Gaga 'Monster Ball Tour' Steamrolls Through Canada Show Recaps

Opening night of the tour Friday, November 27 at Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada





As reported by T'Cha Dunlevy at the Gazette / Canada.com

Things got off to a slow start; the fashion icon was fashionably late. Cheers erupted when the lights finally dropped just before 10 p.m.

She wasn’t ready to come out just yet. A giant screen lit up with a futuristic, glowing green grid. Gaga finally appeared, striking an awkward pose, blond locks cascading over her shoulders, a shimmering mask around her eyes.

She opened with a new song, Dance In the Dark, off her new album The Fame Monster, before following with a string of hits off last year’s The Fame.



Lo and behold, Kid Cudi finally appeared, dropping an engaging freestyle. A vibe was taking hold. She dedicated the heartfelt ballad Speechless to her dad, who was in the audience.

Lady Gaga Montreal show photos:
WENN Photo

Saturday, November 28 2nd night of the tour at Air Canada Centre in Toronto





As reported by Jane Stevenson at Sun Media / Canoe

Yes, Lady Gaga is a sexually-charged performer with a major nod to Madonna, to whom she is most often compared, and physically resembles in a live setting.

As she got out of her ecto-skeleton outfit, she grabbed her breasts and stripped down to a silver bodysuit for another Fame Monster song, Alejandro, which saw her being carried by her crotch by one of her male dancers and lowered onto another male dancer.

Later in the show, she declared: "Everytime you scream my name, I get a teeny, tiny, mini-orgasm."

And she made a point of spreading her legs while stradling a white dentist chair during Paper Gangsta.



Toronto Lady Gaga Set list:
"Dance In The Dark"
"Just Dance"
"Love Game"
"Alejandro"
"Monster"
"So Happy I Could Die"
"Teeth"
"Speechless"
"Poker Face" (on piano)
"Fashion"
"The Fame"
"Money Honey"
"Beautiful Dirty Rich"
"Boys Boys Boys"
"Paper Gangsta"
"Poker Face" (with band)
"Paparazzi"
"Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)"
"Bad Romance"

Sunday, November 29 at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Canada



As reported by Aedan Helmer at the Ottawa Sun

Lady Gaga oozed sexuality, channelling her obvious hero Madonna as dancers grooved and groped alongside the bleached blonde diva.

“I’m about to be very wicked,” she promised.

Then, lying prone at centre stage, her legs splayed in the air, she cooed, “I’m kinda like Tinkerbell.

“When Tinkerbell died, the only way to bring her back to life was if you come for her,” she said, feigning orgasm. “Scream for me Ottawa!”

The tender ballad Speechless gave way to a teasing, barely recognizable solo piano rendering of her name-making hit Poker Face, featuring an appearance from opening act Kid Cudi, who spliced his own Make Her Say in the mix as Gaga crooned.

Read each shows' full review here:
Gazette - Talented Lady Gaga needs time to grow (Montreal)
Canoe - Lady Gaga puts on a Monster show (Toronto)
Ottawa Sun - Review: Lady Gaga rules (Ottawa)

Montreal video courtesy of kasiekahne & kylemtl
Toronto video courtesy of Cybershotzz & cdngirl09
Ottawa video courtesy of AstroStarzz

Jay-Z: Canadian Weekend Concert Wrap-Up With Video, Photos & Show Reviews

(photo courtesy by Pierre Obendrauf / Montreal Gazette)

Oct. 30 – Bell Centre – Montreal, QC

As reported by T'Cha Dunlevy at the Montreal Gazette

When he (Jay-Z) intoned the “na-na-na-na” hook off Death Of Auto-Tune, the Montreal crowd joined in.

By the third song of the night, U Don’t Know, it felt like the encore. Everyone was on their feet, arms up, the beat was booming, horns were blazing.

“I like that,” Jay-Z said.

He was, it should be noted, backed by a rockin’ 12-piece band, including hype-man Memphis Bleek.

“I’ve never heard a rap show sound so clean,” said veteran hip-hop promoter Rickey D, seated next to me – and he would know.

The hits kept coming: 99 Problems, Show Me What You Got, I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me), the Jackson 5-sampling Izzo (H.O.V.A.), Heart Of the City (Ain’t No Love) – all with full-on singalong – and we were just half-way through the show.







Oct. 31 – Air Canada Centre – Toronto, ON

As reported by Jane Stevenson / Sun Media / Canoe

TORONTO - Jay-Z donned a white plastic hockey mask for the opening of his Halloween show on Saturday night at the Air Canada Centre.

How appropriate.

The King of Rap pays homage to the king of horror movie characters - Jason - on All Hallows’ Eve.

Face mask aside, Jay-Z brought plenty of slick-looking and sounding tricks and treats with him.

A snippet of Paul McCartney and Wings’ Live And Let Die heralded his arrival while a massive video screen, broken up into rectangular pillars, and a 10-piece band including a three-man horn section, supplied all the sights and sounds of a big production rap show.





Nov. 1 – Scotiabank Place – Ottawa, ON

As reported by Denis Armstrong / Sun Media / Canoe

OTTAWA - He’s sold more records than Elvis and holds the record for No. 1 albums in the Billboard 200. He co-owns the NBA’s New Jersey Nets and swank nightclubs. He’s the former CEO of Def Jam Records and he’s married to Beyonce.

Yeah, life’s sweet for Jay-Z, and the King of Hip-Hop has paved the way for younger producer-musicians such as Timbaland, Ruff Ryders, The Neptunes and Kanye West, and at last night’s big jam at Scotiabank Place, it’s obvious Jay-Z isn’t done with music yet.

Not by a long shot.





Read each show's recap here:
The Montreal Gazette - Concert review: Jay-Z, Oct. 30 at the Bell Centre

Canoe - Jay-Z tricks and treats ACC crowd / Oct. 31 – Air Canada Centre – Toronto, ON

Canoe - Scotiabank Place, Ottawa - November 1, 2009 Hip-Hop King shakes The Bank

Photos:
The Montreal Gazette - Friday, October 30
Getty Images - Toronto Saturday, October 31
WENN Photo - Toronto Saturday, October 31

(Oct. 30 video courtesy of KamiePhresh & couchsurfer)
(Oct. 31 video courtesy of Peace Magazine & Cybershotzz)
(Nov. 01 video courtesy of FREDDY81FUNES & jirkovsky)

Jay-Z 'The Blueprint 3' World Tour dates:
Nov. 4 - Alexandra Palace - London, UK
Nov. 7 - Save Mart Center - Fresno, CA
Nov. 8 - Pauley Pavilion - Los Angeles, CA
Nov. 12 – University of Illinois – Assembly Hall – Champaign, IL
Nov. 13 - Vanderbilt University - Nashville, TN
Nov. 17 - United Spirit Arena - Lubbock, TX
Nov. 19 – Tingley Coliseum – Albuquerque, N.M.
Nov. 20 – Don Haskins Center – El Paso, TX
Nov. 22 – Frank Erwin Center Arena – Austin, TX

One Stop Shop Producers Conference Beat Battle Winner

Last weekend over five hundred aspiring and established producers from the UK, the Caribbean, Australia, Canada and America, congregated in Phoenix, AZ for the ANNUAL ONE STOP SHOP PRODUCER CONFERENCE. For the third consecutive year Sha Money XL and his team went above and beyond in presenting to the next generation of music's producers, execs, managers and artists a weekend filled with informative panels and networking opportunities.

Panels moderated by MTV on-air personality Sway, Angela Yee of Shade 45, Chuck Creekmur of Allhiphop.com and more were both educational and featured the best of the best in the Hip-Hop business, discussing all aspects of the industry. This year One Stop Shop also played host to artists such as B.o.B, Q-Tip, Reflection Eternal and more allowing attendees the opportunity to see these entertainers perform live.

The highlight of the weekend was, as in previous years, the Beat Battle which was won this year by Montreal native Mathieu 'Billboard' Jomphe. The 20 year old who had quit his job to migrate south for the weekend blew the audience away with his production. "The thing that amazed me the most about winning was the fact that my beats are more R&B," Billboard said after winning the coveted title. "You see those huge names in Hip-Hop on that stage and you can't help but be a little bit nervous."

Impressing the likes of Just Blaze, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Don Cannon and 9th Wonder with his versatile, polished and cohesive tracks, Billboard made a huge impact on all those at ONE STOP SHOP."The crazy thing with Billboard was his music got included for an on air beat battle I was doing with a radio station, but then he let me know he wasn't in Arizona and couldn't take part but was coming to the conference," Sha Money XL explains. "His music felt like what I would be vibing to in a club, big sounds and club rocking drums and everyone there was feeling it too."

Each year the winner of the notorious Beat Battle has hailed from a different country which proves that this conference is an attraction that reaches . With plans to take the ONE STOP SHOP on the road in the next year Sha Money XL is keen for this networking opportunity to benefit countries where there is a void in the market. "We are open to taking this concept to other countries and with that being said we might explore making the conference international. Perhaps even Toronto, Canada next.'

"Hands down, this conference has got to be the best and most influential conference for both up & coming and established music producers and tech heads. Blessed to be apart of this. See you at the 4th Annual if you missed out!! "- Hi-Tek

check out Billboard the Producer's Myspace page:
http://www.myspace.com/billboardprod