The only rapper to rewrite history without a pen, Jay-Z, stormed the stage last night at Etihad stadium before U2 took to their gigantic space station of a stage and his performance ended up being one of the most memorable of 2010.
Forced to fight to win over an at first uninterested crowd, Z’s performance was filled with the determination of a samurai and the energy of a nuclear weapon and every line he delivered was like a bomb that ruptured the audience into a state of frenzy.
Opening with ‘Run This Town’, featuring the distinctive voices of Rihanna and Kanye West (no, despite West being in Melbourne, he did not join Z on stage at all), the audience immediately took notice and despite not knowing all the words when the mic was held out to them (especially noticeable in his provocative ’99 Problems’ where only a small section of the crowd seemed to know to shout “but a bitch ain’t one!”) Z had an impressive number of the thousands of people who had shown up early whipping shirts and jackets around in the air on his insistence.
“You’ve made me feel very welcome in your city, now let me take you to mine,” he said as he launched into his mega-hit ‘Empire State Of Mind’ - easily the most recognised song in his set with previously dormant audience members leaping out of their seats to sing along at this point.
‘Young Forever’ was dedicated to “fallen soldiers, Biggie Smalls, Tupac Shakur, Aaliyah” and thanks to the instantly recognizable Alphaville sample from their song ‘Forever Young’ (especially remembered in Australia from Youth Group’s #1 cover from 2006) the audience happily took control of the chorus from Z and his 12 piece band.
This phenomenal performance left the headliners with a problem. How can a band that repeatedly highlights their punk roots (Bono even name-checked Melbournian Richard Lowenstein, director of the Australian cult film Dogs In Space) but consistently produce inoffensive pop tunes follow the “mah-fuckin’ greatest” without coming across as twee? Well, they can’t really. They do, however, make up for it with a stage so big the roof at Etihad can’t be closed and enough lights to blind anyone within a 10 mile radius.
Opening with ‘The Return Of The Stingray Guitar’ wasn’t a way to wow fans musically. In fact, the few songs they played from their 2009 album ‘No Line On The Horizon’ were quite frankly cringeworthy, but it wasn’t about the new songs. A U2 performance is about their hefty back catalogue of iconic tunes. ‘Mysterious Ways’, ‘I Will Follow’, ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ and ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’ more than made up for the Cuban-inspired ‘I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight’ featuring drummer Larry Mullen Jnr on the congas.
Jay-Z joined the band on stage for ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ where he rapped a verse during what would be the bridge. The fact that U2 lack the power they once had when Bono shouted “This is not a rebel song, this is Sunday Bloody Sunday!” at Red Rocks in Colorado in the 80s paved the way for Jay-Z to bring his energy to the performance. As Z powered off stage, he screamed “”Welcome home Aung San Suu, welcome home Aung San Suu!” into the microphone, leaving Bono to awkwardly state “Welcome home Aung San Suu Kyi is exactly right.”
The pair were talking about recently freed Burmese political leader Aung San Suu Kyi who Bono perhaps a little ambitiously said that U2 fans had kept “in their thoughts and prayers” during her imprisonment.
Bono’s voice could not be flawed. He put in one hell of an effort for this tour and it is sounding stronger than it has for years. The real test was during ‘Miss Sarajevo’ where he belted out Luciano Pavarotti’s part surprisingly true to the Italian tenor’s original.
The giant “claw” stage came to life with blinding lights, rotating staircases and a 360 degree stretchy screen, but that show has to be credited to set designer Willie Williams, who has designed every U2 tour since 1982 including the bewilderingly massive (yes, even compared to this enormous tour) Zoo TV and Popmart tours.
U2 are a spectacle. Their presence in a city is a cultural event and a significant moment on the calendars of 140,000 people who bought tickets in Melbourne alone. Are they the rough and ready punk band that they claim to be? No. Not even close. They’re slick and inoffensive. They’re only just too rough for your grandmother to get into, but accessible enough for everyone else who isn’t your Delta Goodrem and Ronan Keating listening grandmother to pay their money to see.
Jay-Z might not be the city-wide event that U2 are, he might have only been listed on the ticket as “special guest” and lyrics like “I’ve got 99 problems but a bitch ain’t one” might scare off a huge chunk of would-be-fans, but when it comes down to it his power comes from his performance whereas U2 rely on a bunch of flashing lights. Put Jay-Z on a stage anywhere and watch him kill it, take U2 out of their space station and what are you left with? Not a hell of a lot.
NB: The "4 star" review is an average of 5 stars for Jay-Z and 3 for U2.
U2’s set list from Etihad Stadium, Melbourne, Australia on December 1st, 2010 was:
Return of the Stingray Guitar (Previously unreleased)
Beautiful Day (from ‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind’, 2000)
I Will Follow (from ‘Boy’, 1980)
Get On Your Boots (from ‘No Line On The Horizon’, 2009)
Magnificent (from ‘No Line On The Horizon’, 2009)
Mysterious Ways (from ‘Achtung Baby’, 1991)
Elevation (from ‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind’, 2000)
Until The End Of The World (from ‘Achtung Baby’, 1991)
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (from ‘The Joshua Tree’, 1987)
Mercy (previously unreleased from ‘How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb’ sessions, 2004)
Bad (from ‘The Unforgettable Fire’, 1984)
In A Little While (from ‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind’, 2000)
Miss Sarajevo (from the “Passengers” album ‘Original Soundtracks 1’, 1995)
City of Blinding Lights (from ‘How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb’, 2004)
Vertigo (from ‘How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb’, 2004)
I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight (from ‘No Line On The Horizon’, 2009)
Sunday Bloody Sunday (With Jay-Z) (from ‘War’, 1983)
Scarlet (from ‘October’, 1981)
Walk On (from ‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind’, 2000)
One (from ‘Achtung Baby’, 1991)
Where The Streets Have No Name (from ‘The Joshua Tree’, 1987)
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me (from ‘Batman Forever Original Soundtrack’, 1995)
With Or Without You (from ‘The Joshua Tree’, 1987)
Moment Of Surrender (from ‘No Line On The Horizon’, 2009)
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Check out footage of U2's 360° tour at Melbourne's Etihad Stadium, December 1st, 2010 below:
