Live Review: Eminem, Lil Wayne

05 December 2011

by Thomas Gilmore

Sydney Football Stadium,
Friday, December 2

High scale hip hop shows seem to be making their way to Australia far more regularly than they did even a few years ago. In fact urban touring seems to be so successful here at this point that American urban artists want Aussies to take them to Europe.

The line-ups have been getting better and better and we have come to expect it, with regular events such as Supafest. But it feels like it really hit a peak with the announcement of this run of Eminem and Lil Wayne shows (though we've been told that there are more stars to come).

For me, due to traffic congestion and lines, the night started with Lil Wayne. Wayne really is a performer and he really can rap. He had everyone in the crowd around his little finger as he busted through crowd favourites.

Wayne's verse in Chris Brown's Look At Me Now went down smoothly. The acoustic guitar and live drumming in a unique rendition of Lollipop made for a change. Seeing Birdman on stage for a medley of the pair's hits together, including 100 Million was another treat. When Weezy busted out the guitar Rebirth-style, it was less of a treat, but certainly entertaining.

It wasn't particularly warm, but it was certainly warm enough for Wayne to have his shirt off, but it seems that (particularly) the ladies in the GA didn't mind at all. One sign read "DTF LIL WAYNE?" and the crowd really did love seeing him roll about on the skate ramps on stage (I think I even caught him Rock to Fakie at one point).

In the break between sets, a Mexican wave really entertained the crowd between fights. But before long, after some new staging elements adorned the stage, Eminem's band (keys, a few percussionists and a DJ by the name of The Alchemist) began with an overture of sorts. By the end of it, Eminem had climbed on stage in a grey hoodie (he must have been feeling the cold a little more than Wayne).

White Trash Party and Kill You came out early. The vibes were high, even if the sound was low. Notably angry punters seemed to swell between songs, before being excited to hear the next song.

Lil Wayne was soon back out on stage performing the pair's collaboration from Recovery, No Love, and it was a whole lot of fun – Wayne was wearing a shirt this time, too. Later on, Royce Da 5'9" joined Eminem on stage for a few tracks from their Bad Meets Evil collaboration.

But it was Eminem's solo work that people were there to see. And the evening went on, the scale of the hits continued to climb, culminating in classics like My Name Is, The Real Slim Shady and Without Me, which really showcased the depth of Eminem's catalogue.