At the two-hour- and 20-minute-long show, two of hip-hop’s biggest stars made a convincing case for their self-appointed ‘royalty’ status.

 ”Tonight, we’re living our dream in front of y’all, Toronto,” Jay-Z said in introducing the duo’s rags-to-riches collaboration “Made in America.” 

“How far are you living that dream right now? We feel you.“ 

Kicking off the show with “H.A.M.,” Jay-Z and West stood at opposite ends of the arena floor on raised square platforms. The closely bunched crowd — mostly composed of 20- and 30-somethings — roared its approval as the satellite stages slowly raised, video images of barking dogs splashed across their sides. 

Their collaborative album “Watch the Throne” — which opened at No. 1 on the charts in the U.S. and Canada and has since been certified platinum — is about money, power and excess, and yet these two rap titans presented the record in a fashion that could almost be described as minimalist. 

“Otis” was accompanied by bursting flames, while the stage was appropriately aglow during “All of the Lights” (West paused the song twice to make sure that was the case). And for whatever reason, the nature videos were a theme of the evening, with sharks, tigers and wolves also making cameos. 

Yet most of the evening’s tunes were delivered with a more stark esthetic. For West’s conflicted anthem “Can’t Buy Me Nothing,” he appeared as a silhouette against a backdrop of smoke and lasers. And for a short stretch that included Jay’s biggest early breakout hit — the “Annie”-aping “Hard Knock Life” — the rappers sat down next to one another onstage with the house lights dim, fostering an intimacy rare for shows held in hockey arenas. 

Even their clothing was fairly restrained, with both artists clad all in black (a Yankees cap fixed to Jay-Z’s head, of course), though West wore a garment that, to the untrained eye, looked like a black leather skirt dangling over his slim black pants. 

As might be expected from two stars who seem to crank out hits as easily as a prime Pete Rose — West and Jay-Z combined have authored 16 chart-topping studio albums — there was no shortage of audience-rousing anthems to call upon, and the show seemed oriented for maximum crowd-pleasing effect. 

“Izzo” flowed into “Empire State of Mind,” followed by “Runaway,” “Heartless” and “Stronger,” while the one-two punch of “Gold Digger” and “99 Problems” was one of the show’s highlights, with West rapping the role of the crusty cop in the latter. The rappers appeared together plenty, but each also ceded the spotlight to the other for a spell. The energy level never dipped as the two MCs ran through more than three dozen of their best-known tunes. 

“Watch The Throne” presented easy opportunities to contrast the unique appeal of these two genre giants, and so did Wednesday’s show. Jay-Z is the street-savvy, impossible-to-ruffle hustler, so smoothly precise with his verbiage that he can spin intricate lyrical yarns with a yawn. West, meanwhile, is petulant, flawed, confessional and altogether fascinating, an unrivalled, unravelled hip-hop architect with the audacity to craft some of the most ambitious music in modern pop. 

And they seem to bring out the best in each other. 

West, easily the more playful of the two songwriters, delivered his solo songs with passion and intensity, but smiled much more easily when sharing the stage with his partner. Jay-Z, meanwhile, had a masterful command over the crowd, issuing instructions with the warm but firm tone of a dog trainer. 

“Toronto, we appreciate all your hospitality,” he said at one point.

For West, it was his unimpeachable catalogue of innovative hits that would bring the crowd enthusiastically to its feet again and again. His skyscraper of a single “Runaway” provided one of the evening’s most memorable moments, with West delivering the self-immolating screed from a gigantic red cube in the middle of the crowd. After following with an equally rousing version of his moody chiller “Heartless,” West broke into a genuinely giddy smile before struggling to adopt a sterner look for “Stronger.” 

Jay-Z’s performance was, unsurprisingly, less dramatic. But he maintained a firm grip over the audience, at one point effortlessly leading a singalong while performing his ’98 single with the sanitized title “Jigga What, Jigga Who,” while directing each side of the crowd to take turns shouting in excitement. 

“I like this side way better,” he said, pointing to his left. 

Fortunately — with two of the most dazzling stars hip-hop has ever produced sharing the stage so amicably — the audience didn’t need to make any similar judgments.

(From the Canadian Press)

Rihanna’s two shows at the ACC on June 6th and 7th just got taken to beast mode status with the addition of B.o.B as the opening act on both dates!

From Live Nation:

‘Extraordinary live entertainer and pop music superstar Rihanna confirms B.O.B on select dates on North American tour. Tickets for the Live Nation produced tour are available at Ticketmaster.ca and Live Nation.com.’

Maybe Rihanna will step in and play the role of Hayley Williams for this smash hit…

]]> http://www.kiss925.com/2011/05/06/b-o-b/feed/ 0 B.O.B., Concerts, Rihanna Ryan the Promo Guy http://www.kiss925.com/2010/10/15/blake-mcgrath-added-to-the-kiss-92-5-haus-party-line-up/ http://www.kiss925.com/2010/10/15/blake-mcgrath-added-to-the-kiss-92-5-haus-party-line-up/#comments Fri, 15 Oct 2010 19:37:17 +0000 Ryan the Promo Guy http://www.kiss925.com/?p=16998

No one throws a bigger Haus Party than KiSS 92.5, and the line up for our already ridiculously sick show only continues to grow!

This time, we’ve added a man who knows how to dance…

Blake McGrath from So You Think You Can Dance fame, and the man behind the hit ‘Relax,’ joins the already stellar KiSS 92.5 Haus Party lineup, which features Bruno Mars, JRDN, and Danny Fernandes!

It all goes down Saturday November 13th at the Kool Haus and tickets are only $19.25! Tickets just went onsale this morning, so hurry up and pick yours up now, because I guarentee they’ll be gone before Commercial Free Monday rolls around!

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS 

Of course you can always try to win your tickets by keeping it locked to KiSS!

Check out this video from Blake McGrath’s last visit to the KiSS Studios when he tried to teach Taylor Kaye how to dirty dance, and then enjoy the video for his single ‘Relax.’

This contest is now closed

Click the image to purchase your presale tickets starting at noon on Wednesday, or click right HERE.