LeBron James hosts Jay-Z in Last Chance for Change

Last night, Gale and I saw Jay-Z. I had not seen Jay-Z in the flesh before, but thought this would be a great opportunity to check him out. Of course, this was under the guise of a concert sponsored by the Ohio Democratic Party. The agenda was encouraging people to vote and all, but really everyone was there to see Jay-Z.

The Venue: Quicken Loans Arena. This was a General Admission show where gates opened at 6:30 for an 8:00 start. Even the uppers were opened for this one.

Stage Banter: Quite frankly, LeBron looked like a fool for most of the night. He was on stage for virtually all of Jay-Z’s performance. If Jay-Z was on the left, LeBron would be on the right and vice versa. Never really getting in the way, but inserting himself into the proceedings was downright strange. Thank God, he didn’t have a mike. Let me be sure everyone understands. He rapped along with Jay-Z on virtually every song, but did not have a mike. I mean, Jay-Z already has one “rap partner”, Memphis Bleek, on a few tunes, he doesn’t need another. LeBron would stroll to the front or side of the stage and wave his arms, point, or in general look out of place.

Imagine, if you will, you on stage with your favorite artist. You can’t sing, you can’t play an instrument. You’re just there, hogging the spotlight. While people utter, WTF?

Here’s what LeBron said: “You know who I'm voting for, I'm voting for Obama…For real!". Ugh!

Jay-Z chimed in with a: “We're here to have fun tonight, but there's an important election coming up. We the youth are going to show them our power." For real, I say! He also pulled a “Peace and love” comment a la Ringo Starr.

And, of course, he shouted out to all the “niggaz” and “muthafuckas” in the house. More than once. I got lumped into the “Westside” comment.

The Tickets: As I said, this was a General Admission show. I got my tickets from the Obama Election Office in Kent last Friday. I got floor seats. Lower-level and upper-level seats were also distributed, but if you wanted to get a prime location, you had to get there early. No way would we do that. We were able to watch the Obama commercial and then stroll in about 8:40. We set up near the press location near the back of where you could stand on the floor. Wasn’t really that bad back there, lots of room to move and drink my beer in peace.

The Crowd: I have never been in a venue with that many black people before. No lie. Of the 20,000 in attendance, I estimate maybe 1,000 were white. And thank God, Frank Jackson was there. Yes, the mayor saved me from chaperone status. Although the PD interviewed some 63-year old, who was probably cowered in a loge somewhere.

My brother and I saw George Clinton many moons ago at Peabody’s. I’m not sure if the ratio of black-to-white was greater, but the sheer scope of the crowd was something to see.

The Sound: The sound was excellent once again at the Q. It’s all in where you sit (or stand) these days, I believe. Jay-Z has a band that really rocks out and those guys were in fine form. No worries here.

Opening Act: There wasn’t any. Oh yeah, that had a lame DJ who tried to keep the crowd occupied until 7:55, from what I heard. Then the Obama commercial was shown from 8:00 to 8:30. As we walked in, the Politician Parade started. First, Frank Jackson came out. Don’t believe the hype, he got booed. A lot. Then Chris Redfern, the chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, came out representing the white people in the hizzy house. After him, an unknown man came out. Jay-Z came on about 9:10.

The Stage: Awesome setup. He has a video screen on each side of the stage. And a much larger video screen hovers above, almost the length of the stage. Jay-Z has a “rap partner” with him up front. And his band is dressed in ties, black vests and pants, and white shirts.

This band was unbelievably good. In the back, left to right, he has three horns, percussion, drums and keyboards. In the front, left to right, it’s keyboard/DJ, bass, and guitar. Jay-Z and Memphis Bleek roam around the front of the stage, with Lebron there for good measure. Great mix of sound and visuals.

The Music: Jay-Z played for around 80 minutes, the show lasting from 9:10 til about 10:30. I must say, if you ever get the chance, you need to see him live, he is the real deal. I put him on par with Springsteen or U2, where mostly everyone knows the words and sings along to every song. It is quite the spectacle. I know tickets were free, but whatever he would charge for a concert, is fair. The man knows how to put on a show. It’s not hard to see why his music still resonates with the youth, he is an amazing entertainer.

Setlist:

“Say Hello”
“U Don't Know”
“Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)...”
“Jigga My Nigga”
“Can I Live”
“Blue Magic”
"Minority Report"
“Public Service Announcement (Interlude)”
“Swagga Like Us”
“Put On (Remix)”
“Dirt Off Your Shoulder”
“A Billi Freestyle”
“I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)”
“Jigga What, Jigga Who (Originator 99)”
“Izzo (H.O.V.A.)”
“Can I Get A...”
“Show Me What You Got”
“I Know”
“Excuse Me Miss”
“La, La, La”
“Song Cry”
“Memphis Bleek Song”
“99 Problems”
“Jockin' Jay-Z”

Encore:

“Big Pimpin'”
“Hard Knock Life (The Ghetto Anthem)”

Last Chance for Change Video



Meal of Links

Harry Shearer checks in. Catch Le Show, Sundays at 1:00 on 90.3, if you can. I still marvel at how good of a radio show that is.

How can you not like "Rounders"? Great on the big screen. Which reminds me, I should program that Playhouse Square summer movie schedule. I'd get asses in the chairs for sure. This movie turned my opinion, to the better, on Matt Damon. And, absolutely sold me on Edward Norton's acting ability. For being a supporting actor, his scenes absolutely leap off the screen in this one.

Roger Ebert with advice for film critics. Very funny.

The Onion had Roy the Forklift Driver from Ohio 15 years ago. History repeats.

Kids today are not ingenious enough to use the Halloween Candy Code. Of course, they love me around here.

Exercise Yard

I guess this is how you celebrate winning the World Series. With a bottle to the head!



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36 Across: First name in country (5 letters) Answer: Merle