#1235 Eminem x Rihanna at the Rose Bowl

I'm back from California. I know I said I would write about the show on Saturday, but I decided to wait. Sometimes I can get wrapped up in the excitement and emotion right after a show, and I wanted to take a bit of time to reflect on it, I guess.

To recap, T and I went to see Eminem and Rihanna and their Monster Tour on Friday night at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. It was a pretty long day. We got to the stadium way early because I was concerned about traffic and getting there on time. The show was to start at 7:30; we were there at 3:00.  Fortunately, the Rose Bowl had an area set up outside the stadium that they were calling Picnic in the Park. There were tables set up and fans with misters and porta-potties and lots of food vendors. T and I walked around and checked everything out, then we got some lunch and went back to the car. It was warm, but we sat with the doors open and there was a nice breeze. It wasn't a terrible way to spend an afternoon.

Around 6PM we went into the stadium and watched the people as the stadium filled up. There was some good music playing and there was a real buzz of anticipation in the place.  Here's a pic I took while we were waiting for the show to start:

There were still lots of seats that were unoccupied and space on the floor. We were surprised that more people weren't there. Didn't the place sell out?

Then the lights went out and Rihanna came out, followed by Eminem. When the lights came back up, the stadium was packed! Where were all those people?!

Rihanna and Eminem did a couple songs together, then Eminem did some songs alone, then Rihanna did a full set. Then they did a couple more songs together, then Eminem did a full set, then Rihanna did a couple more songs, then Em did "Lose Yourself" then they finished with "The Monster."

I thought the sound during the Rihanna set wasn't very good at times. She didn't always sing either. She walked around and did a little dancing. When she did sing, she sounded good. She has lots of hits. People all around me were singing along and we were dancing our asses off. I really like her music, so I thought it was very fun. Here's another thing about Rihanna: she's gorgeous. Of course we couldn't see her clearly from where we were, but there were big screens and we were able to admire her slim frame and pretty smile. Let's face it: the girl is hot. I think she gained a new fan in my son :) He enjoyed the way she wiggled her hips. Can't blame him.

She did sing the hell out of "Stay." What a great song.

Now let's talk about Eminem.

T knows every one of Eminem's songs. He has listened to the dude's complete CD catalog a jillion times. T was practically quivering with excitement to see Eminem, as were most of the 60,000 people who were at the show, including me, even though I don't know all the songs.

Eminem did not disappoint. He moved freely around the stage, engaging the crowd and rapping his face off. I didn't know all the songs, but T was happy with the range of tunes that he did. I thought Eminem sounded great and I was excited about the performances. The crowd was really into it, too. We never sat down and there was no time when one of them wasn't on the stage for the two hours plus they performed. It was awesome!

 

At one point, they asked us to put up our cell phone and shine our lights. Looked really cool from where I was!

After the show, we drove home (to my mom's house). We got there around 1AM. See what I mean by long day? It was fun though, and I'd certainly do it again. Way fun for me!!

Here is the LA Times review of the August 7 show. A lot of what they say applies to the August 8 show, except what Rihanna was wearing at our show. :)