Jay Z and Justin Timberlake thrill the faithful at Legends of the Summer Tour in Vancouver

    1 of 1 2 of 1

      At B.C. Place on Wednesday, July 31

      It’s not everyday you get to watch a former Mouseketeer and a former crack dealer perform at the same time. On paper, The Legends of the Summer Stadium Tour that featured pop star Justin Timberlake and rapper Jay Z certainly seemed like an odd pairing. Yes, the two have been collaborating on tracks lately, but surely one can't throw up the Roc-A-Fella diamond sign and bring sexy back at the same time.

      "Y'all ready to party?" the ex-'N Syncer asked after taking to the stage and singing the intro to "Holy Grail", off of Shawn Carter's latest, Magna Carta… Holy Grail. B.C. Place was indeed, with its stupidly expensive roof, which was open for once, and packed full of normals. (Presumably, the Honda Celebration of Light, which was happening at the same time as this show, and pricey tickets kept the dregs of Granville Street away.)

      Thankfully, the pair didn't linger too long on their latest musical offerings, which, let's face it, blow. On the obligatory four-storey-high stage, which featured massive LED screens and 18 or so backup performers that you couldn't care less about, JT and J-Hova treated those in attendance to a two-hour-and-15-minute-long hit parade.

      After a medley that included "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)", "Rock Your Body", "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)", the Jackson 5's I Want You Back", and "Excuse Me Miss", it quickly became clear how this show was going to work: Timberlake would sing the hooks on Jay Z songs and Jay Z would say "Uh-huh" and "Yeah" during Timberlake songs. It was also clear that these two have a fuck-tonne of stage presence and most would be content to watch Mr. Biel and Mr. Knowles spending the evening giving a lecture about how sweet the new Myspace is.

      On their own, neither could pack B.C. Place—you need to be a Beatle or Taylor Swift to do that. But both proved more than capable of keeping the 40,000-plus in attendance satiated when they were on-stage performing solo.

      The shrillest squeals of the evening came whenever JT, who seemed the more human of the two, busted out the dance moves. Yes, he was electric and can still get down. Hearing those shrieks definitely made it seem like the majority in attendance was there to see him. Apparently, an extended hiatus from music to take on plum acting roles in The Love Guru and Yogi Bear hasn't hurt his stock in the slightest.

      Though the show was unforgettable, it was not without cornball moments. One that sticks out is Timberlake crooning Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York", which was, naturally, followed by "Empire State of Mind". However, the biggest came just before the final song of the evening, "Young Forever", when Jay Z, who barely acknowledged the faithful all evening, made a left-field, cheapo attempt to tug at their heartstrings by dedicating it to Trayvon Martin.

      As Timberlake sang the chorus, an impressive chunk of the crowd lit up the stadium with their smartphones at Jigga’s insistence. You couldn't help but think he had devised a diabolical new means of mining everyone’s personal data off of them. (You know, like he did with that NSA-esque Samsung app last month.)

      Fighting your way out of B.C. Place, it wasn't hard to overhear people uttering, "Best show ever". When you've got two top-shelf showmen with tremendous bodies of work, chances are you're in for a once-in-a-lifetime evening. The Legends of the Summer Tour lived up to its braggadocio name, regardless if your idea of a good time is watching Disney movies or smoking crack.

      Comments

      20 Comments

      emmanuel

      Aug 1, 2013 at 8:44am

      Hova n jt. Thank u city

      Beatrix

      Aug 1, 2013 at 12:10pm

      Madonna can pack the stadium :p

      Marian

      Aug 1, 2013 at 12:47pm

      Went to the concert and luv J.T. But not too familiar with Jay Z that much other than the the hit forever young and the song with Alicia Keys. It was a great concert but I would like to know all the songs that Jay Z sang last night as there was one nearer to the end that I loved. I recognized it from the radio but didn't know it was him! Could someone list them here if u were there last night and remember. Thanx. ....the Jay Z ones not Timberlake :)

      SSD

      Aug 1, 2013 at 1:28pm

      Worst review ever. Not only do you fail big time at trying to be funny, but you fail at telling the readers of whether you thought the concert was good, ok, or bad on an overall basis (I thought it was great and I would bet almost all other attendees did too). And what did this last sentence mean?

      "The Legends of the Summer Tour lived up to its braggadocio name, regardless if your idea of a good time is watching Disney movies or smoking crack."

      What?

      Bruce

      Aug 1, 2013 at 2:36pm

      @SSD....I agree. Michael Mann tries to be smart, funny and clever but inevitably succeeds at nothing. In the end his writing smells of someone trying desperately to be accepted by the rest of the Straight writers.
      Or maybe he's trying to find his voice.
      Is that it Michael?...Are you trying to find your voice?

      Zenaida

      Aug 1, 2013 at 2:44pm

      -Jay Z, who barely acknowledged the faithful all evening, made a left-field, cheapo attempt to tug at their heartstrings by dedicating it to Trayvon Martin.-

      He said he would like to thank "each and every individual" for coming out and got the audience to bounce, wave and light up all night.

      This is a bad review and you were not paying attention to the show.

      Lost one directioner

      Aug 1, 2013 at 3:05pm

      you obviously have no idea wot you're talking about. take this blog down!

      condescending

      Aug 1, 2013 at 3:23pm

      Michael, I've noticed that a lof of your reviews sound condescending and judgemental. I understand that these reviews are essentially your opinion, but it sounds like nothing is ever good enough for you. Why do you have to bring to light that JT was a former mousketeer and Jay Z was a crack dealer. We all know it. Couldn't you focus on the fact that they are two great artists but yes it was an odd combination. I'm sure there would have been a lot more Jay Z supporters out there if he had come with another rap/hip hop artist like when him and Kanye had come. I dunno, sounds like anything mainstream is never up to par with the Michael Mann standards.

      elizabeth

      Aug 1, 2013 at 3:26pm

      what show was the writer at, they clearly acknowledged the crown throughout the performance.

      Great show, I have seen Jay z before when the black album came out and that was awesome but this surpassed that!

      Shannon

      Aug 1, 2013 at 3:59pm

      I didn't go to the concert but I had to comment on Michael Mann's writing. It stinks! It was bad on Ion Magazine and it's worse now. Mann tries too hard to be funny/hip I don't know.

      My question is, why does the Straight continue to publish his terrible reviews and "commentary"?