BEHIND THE STAGE, NOT BACKSTAGE: Jay-Z at Barclays Center, Night 6

on Oct 5, 2012

Jay-Z isn't entirely sure what night this is. "This is night...5, 6?" he says at the top of the show, in the first of numerous times he chats with the crowd at length. You might have thought it was a kind of bravado ('I've done so many of these shows that I've lost track'), but during another pause a few songs later, he spontaneously confirms out loud to himself, "It's 6." It's not bravado; Jay-Z has done so many of these shows that, for a little while there, he lost track.


The camera work was exceptional,
 Eight nights of performing for 18,000-plus fans inside Brooklyn's newest and largest nonlinguistic metaphor is a legend-bulding residency. It's sort of like Yo La Tengo's annual Hanukkah shows at Maxwell's, except that if you shouted out for an old b-side by The Clean, chances are slimmer that he'd cover it. He did a sort-of-cover tribute to B.I.G., that included playing part of "Juicy" straight off the CD while emphasizing "yeah" over it when approriate. Surely for logistical reasons, most songs this evening were played only in part, which usually worked fine, but sometimes - "Girls Girls Girls," for one - left you longing for the whole thing.

Whatever you might have heard about contact highs at these shows was probably true. It didn't help being in the nosebleeds, where the audience's cummulative weed cloud could be seen and smelled even from out on the walkways. Anything else you've read about earlier shows also probably happened tonight. Brooklyn was mentioned an OCD-amount of times. Night #3 was proclaimed to have been the loudest. He gave the same posi-core "genius-level talent" speech at the end of the night that he's been giving since the first night. Then he got everyone to put their cell phone lighters up and sing along with that goofy 80's-relic Alphaville song. 


Jay-Z was beside himself,

Earlier, he also gave an equally passionate talk about detractors (whoever they may be) who have noted the small percentage of his actual monetary stake in Barclays Center. Personally, I had appreciated the idea of Jay-Z not being in too deep financially with a widely unpopular real estate developer and a questionable Russian business oligarch, but his point was valid, and without the attachment and support of such a unique and beloved local hero, the venture would likely be met with more public indifference and distrust. Even if his name isn't at the top of the receipt, it's all Jay-Z's house through the weekend, and the 40/40 Club in the arena will keep his presence felt.


...and everyone called their friends.

Aside from its promotional and Tony Robbins-motivational elements, how was the concert as a concert? "On to the Next One" slayed it, as did most everything else you would expect to. The songs that were spared the aforementioned shortening were all the more potent for getting aired in full -- "Public Service Announcement" and "What More Can I Say?" especially. There was a sly joke buried in the setlist, where "Encore" was the last song of the main set, before the encore itself. The band had two oversized drum kits and more keyboards than Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Turns out that Night #8 will be streamed live this Saturday on Jay-Z's new YouTube channel. If you didn't get a ticket, it may be worth checking out...I can vouche for the camera work.