Times have changed since Run-DMC long agoproved that rap and rock pair as perfectly as chocolate and peanut butter.Subsequent combinations of the two styles have smelled more like ammonia andbleach, so it's understandable why some Lil Wayne followers are up in armsabout the rapper's plans to follow up his commercial and creative pinnacle,last year's Tha Carter III, with arock album, Rebirth. Not since BobDylan's 1965 Newport Folk Festival concert, perhaps, have fans felt so betrayedby a musician embracing electric guitars.
Wayne'smagnetic, super-sized performance Wednesday, though, should allay concerns thathis sudden affinity for rock somehow precludes him from the rap he does best.He spent about half the show backed by a band that, contrary to weighing himdown, only further fed his gleeful, wild-man enthusiasm. Even tracks thatseemingly needed no adornment, like “A Milli,” hit that much harder with theextra punch of swelling guitars and ferocious live snare snaps (the explodingpyrotechnics displays helped, too).
Though more than 100-minutes longthe rapequivalent of a marathon, three-hour Bruce Springsteen concertthe performancenonetheless felt breathless; several major hits were pared down into melodiesin the rush to include everything. The momentum only slowed when Wayne put the spotlighton his Young Money label signees, the tour's true purpose. Wayne's mostin-demand protégé, Drake, was benched with a torn ACL, and while Jae Millz hada hit of his own to lean on (“Ain't I”), and the label's lone lady, NickiMinaj, exuded genuine star power, upstarts T-Streets, Tyga and Lil Twist lackedDrake's easy charisma. Their quickie showcases, though, were a small trade-offfor such a generous show, the time-share presentation that made possible anotherwise blissful vacation.
