It’s a pretty big deal when one of the biggest names in popular music comes to our shores after a decade of absence. As soon as a down-under Eminem tour was announced the excitement reached fever pitch and stayed there throughout the lead-up to what has undoubtedly been the biggest music event this year (despite how many hipsters scoff at his mainstream appeal).

To make sure that the waves of this event would be felt beyond Australia, Lil’ Wayne was added as a support act. A rapper which has seen his popularity in the mainstream skyrocket during the past few years, to the point where it could be argued that the former hot boy is now even bigger than Eminem, he even has people taking his ‘best rapper alive’ gimmick seriously.

Throw in the biggest hip-hop act in Australia – Hilltop Hoods, and the super-talented M-Phazes and you get a very promising epic.

On arrival the line to collect tickets was unbelievably long, so long in fact that they had to eventually open another box office to cope with demand – it took me at least an hour and a half to get my tickets and make it just in time for Lil’ Wayne.

I walked in to the sounds of “Mr Carter” and took place amongst a largely underage crowd. The Carter IV’s “John” brought out some much-needed energy whilst the mega-hit “A Milli” sparked the crowd.

However, after “A Milli” the crowd seemed to lose interest (me included) while weezy went through a set largely dominated by his post-Carter III material. A fan of Lil’ Wayne would have wanted to at least hear “Fireman” “Go DJ” or “Tha Block Is Hot” however, he seemed to completely block out the period where he was actually making good music and persist on catering to those that jumped on his bandwagon after Carter III.

Lil’ Wayne proved a capable performer as far as medley-style, half-assed hip-hop performances go, but I don’t recall ever being as disappointed in a set list as this. Now if he just came back and played a set full of material from Lights Out, 500 Degreez, and Carter’s I and II then maybe, just maybe a Lil’ Wayne set would be worth seeing.

Lil’ Wayne Set List:

Mr Carter
John
A Milli
Right Above It
Got Money
Blunt Blowin’
She Will
We Be Steady Mobbin’
Look At Me Now
I’m On One
Motivation
Mrs Officer
Lollipop (Acoustic)
How To Love
Fire Flame (Remix) (With Baby AKA Birdman)
Y U Mad (With Baby AKA Birdman)
Every Girl
Bedrock
Prom Queen
Drop The World
Mirror

Encore
6 Foot 7 Foot

Thankfully, the wait for Eminem was fairly short, and soon enough every light in the huge stadium shut off and the screen behind the stage started displaying recounts of Eminem’s rise to the top.

The screams were deafening as you could barely hear the introductory “Won’t Back Down” with Eminem shooting out onto the stage and running back and forth, illustrating his rhymes with well-timed gestures and a determined grin.

Disappointingly, Mr Mathers opted for the medley-style of performing and much of the time when he got around to his most-loved tracks, the adrenaline rush of the songs were short-lived as he switched from track to track, often performing only one verse from each song. While this is very common with hip-hop performances, it was a let-down to see an artist of his calibre breeze through his classics. On the plus side though, a lot of Eminem material was covered.

Halfway through the set Royce Da 5’9 was brought out for two Bad Meets Evil tracks (sadly, Royce didn’t get any solo stuff in) which both sounded great live.

Eminem’s hype man, Mr Porter, stayed on stage throughout the set to assist his friend.

Marshall never missed a beat while on stage, even dancing around stage during “W.T.P” and appropriately freezing up during the classic “Stan.”

As expected, the audience stayed active throughout the whole one-and-a-half-hour set, often rapping every word to his well-known songs. By the one-song encore which saw Eminem performing “Lose Yourself” most of the crowd remained insatiable, pleading for more as they knew Eminem wouldn’t be down here again for a long time, if ever.

While I personally don’t listen to much Eminem, his dynamite performance proved to me that he truly is one of the greatest rappers to ever do it.

Eminem Set List:

Won’t Back Down
3 A.M
Square Dance
W.T.P
Kill You
No Love (with Lil’ Wayne)
So Bad
Cleanin’ Out My Closet
The Way I Am
Fast Lane (With Royce Da 5’9)
Lighters (With Royce Da 5’9)
Airplanes Part II
Stan
Sing For The Moment
Like Toy Soldiers
Forever
Space Bound
Till I Collapse
Cinderella Man
Love The Way You Lie
I Need A Doctor
My Name Is
The Real Slim Shady
Without Me
Not Afraid

Encore

Lose Yourself