I got the VIP treatment (shout out to Live Nation) for the official kickoff show for Jay Z’s 4:44 tour at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Some people wondered because of Jay Z’s last album would this be a more mellow and introspective concert and the answer to that is………
NOPE!!!
I think that is good news for all Jay Z fans because if you go to a Jay Z concert you going for the hits, because the man has 20+ years worth of music and in many ways this concert was more like a retrospective of his career than specifically a concert about the album 4:44.
Let me get some of the technical details out-of-the-way.
The concert starts sharply at 8pm with opener Vic Mensa. When I say right at 8pm, I mean as soon as it was 8pm Vic was rapping. His set is about 45 mins long and it is very good if you are into the Vic Mensa style music. It is good warm up music.
At that point you have about 30 mins before Jay’s set starts. He hit the stage around 9:20pm and he goes on to 11pm.
If you ever been to a Jay Z concert before you know there aren’t a lot of frills, it is just HOV doing his thing. It is a circular stage with video monitors around it so no matter where you are sitting you going to have an opportunity to interact with Jay.
He took 3 short breaks, but for the most part it is just non stop hits from Jay and there are some really beautiful transitions between the old and new songs. They do a good job mixing in the 4:44 songs which aren’t all club style hits to make you feel like you are going on a journey with Jay throughout the evening.
Simply put if you are a Jay Z fan you will get your money’s worth. Sadly there was no guest appearances. I was hoping Beyonce or maybe even Kanye would pop up as a surprise for the first show, but it didn’t matter because if you are like me and grew up on Jay Z’s music it is a fantastic ride to see the evolution he has made from an artist and just a man.
Flip the page for him commenting on Bob McNair’s inmates comments…