Jay-Z at Conseco

This past Saturday I attended the Jay-Z concert at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, or “Naptown” as Jigga so affectionately referred to it. After a take-it-or-leave-it performance from Trey Songz to open, Jay-Z took the stage and rocked the mic for the rest of the night.

While much of the crowd thought Jeezy was going to play before Jay, he surprised us and came out after Trey Songz. The curtains hiding his set on the stage unfolded and the intro for “Run This Town” announced the arrival of the 21st century’s greatest MC as the man himself levitated out of the floor on a platform before bursting into the first verse of “Run This Town,” a much better live song than I anticipated. And it was definitely much better than hearing it at a stupid party in some dude’s basement.

He opened the first concert with mostly “BP3” stuff, including “On to the Next One” and “D.O.A.” I wasn’t a huge fan of “BP3” as an album, but he certainly killed those songs live. The thing that most immediately startled me about Hova was his energy; he just has this nuanced way about him that immediately commands the attention of the entire room and so adeptly keeps it on himself.

Before playing “U Don’t Know,” he brought out Memphis Bleek who basically was there to be a complement to Jay and emphasize certain elements of the different tracks. His best moment came during the second verse of “99 Problems” when Bleek played the part of the cop in Jay’s story and their rapping banter had great chemistry.

Memphis Bleek was just one of four guests Jay-Z featured that night. He brought out Trey Songz for the hooks in “Heart of the City” and “Already Home.” The two of them absolutely rocked “City,” one of my favs, and Jay had a very interactive finish to “Home” that allowed the crowd to emphasize the recurring call of “already” in the final verse.

Jeezy took over for Jay for a little while after the two did “Real As It Gets” and Jay returned so the two could perform “My President is Black.” Jay then took over for the rest of the show, much of which was one long medley of fan favorites, including “Big Pimpin’” and “Can I Get A…”

As much as he played the crowd, at one point even clarifying himself to say, “My bad, all the pretty ladies make some noise,” the crowd of about 15,000 was electric. Hova seemed to be impressed: “I didn’t know there was so much love for us in Indiana.”

My only personal gripe with the show was Jay vetoing “Dead Presidents II,” saying it was “too dark” for the ladies. From the beginning to the end of the encore with “Encore,” I thought the now 40 year old legend was really at his best. Your dude added a little something new to almost every joint, had clever transitions from song to song, and a pretty good lineup of guests to top it all off.  His set and setlist were solid; the show as a whole really exceeded my expectations for an Indianapolis show.

Let’s hope he makes good on his word and returns to the Midwest sometime soon.

Check out setlist.fm for the complete track list.