Jay-Z, rapper/mogul/Blue Ivy's dad, played one of the most anticipated SXSW events Monday night, with a set list heavy on hits and at least partially crowd-sourced.
In addition to soliciting fan feedback for his set, Jay-Z at times let the crowd at the Moody Theater in Austin take over for him, at one point letting them carry a chorus while he took a sip from a water bottle.
The audience for the Amex Sync Show Presenting Jay-Z, which was largely made up of American Express users who won tickets to see the superstar in an intimate venue, was also studded with a number of tech and media celebs. New York Times editor Jill Abramson was there with her son, Cantora Records co-founder Will Griggs; Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley and members of the team from hotly tipped photo-editing startup Aviary mingled at pre-show reception before rocking out.
While the venue might have been on the small side for a Jay-Z show, the audience was almost certainly larger than those contained in the Moody Theater -- the entire gig was streamed live and will be available online for a week. Even with that, Jay-Z seemed relaxed and almost playful, although at a few points he cut songs short and restarted them.
The show kicked off with "What More Can I Say," then plunged right in to a hit parade, including "Dirt Off Your Shoulder," "99 Problems," "Heart of the City," and "Run This Town." He took a few breaks between tracks to engage with the crowd, at one point running through the usual "who's from Texas/New York/west coast/midwest" shoutouts, before asking "who here is from Nova Scotia?" to be greeted by the sound of crickets. While there were rumors Kanye West might join Jay on stage, he didn't bring out any special guests, or even show off any Roc Nation talent.
The show closed with an energetic version of "Empire State of Mind," (after an abortive effort at the track), then, fittingly, "Encore."
JAY-Z's SXSW SET:
What More Can I Say
Dirt Off Your Shoulder
Where I'm From
U Don't Know
99 Problems
Jigga What
Big Pimpin'
Heart Of The City
I Know
Girls, Girls, Girls
Excuse Me Miss
La La La
I Jus Wanna Love You
PSA
On To The Next One
Jigga (What's My Name)
Run This Town
Lucifer / Free Mason
Allure
Beach Chair
Glory
Hard Knock Life
Empire State of Mind
Encore
No comments:
Post a Comment