EMINEM

QSAC.

Brisbane. 20.02.19

It’s been five years since Marshall Mathers III last toured Australia. And five years to the day that he last played Brisbane. 

Fresh from his show in Honolulu, Eminem started his Rapture 2019 tour in style. Playing a venue built for the 1982 Commonwealth Games, this is Eminem in a stadium playing to forty thousand true believers. The numbers are impressive, but the venue is a monolith better suited to watching track and field. Still, audience enthusiasm was hardly dampened. 

Fans got there early and settled in for a big night. Opening slots on Rapture 2019 were performed by Boogie and Royce da 5’9”.

Before the man himself arrived, the biggest cheers went to Adelaide natives, Hilltop Hoods. Packing a heavy punch they got the audience fist pumping and singing at the top of their lungs. Performing well known hits such as Leave Me Lonely and Cosby Sweater – the latter saw the trio ask members of the crowd to remove any piece of clothing and wave it in the air.

When Hilltop Hoods closed their set, the ground was roaring with anticipation and stomping like crazy in the stands.

 In a classic showbiz move, we heard him before we saw him, As  soon as Eminem did appear on stage, fireworks were launched from behind the stadium. 

Diving into the first track Greatest, then following up with fan favourites like Square Dance, Like Toy Soldiers, The Way I Am, Cinderella Man and Sing For The Moment the stadium was awash with a sea of cell phones. 

Somehow exceeding expectations, Rap God lived up too its name. This song showcased Eminem’s lyrical spitting mastery at its best proving live that that world record was both well-earned and well-deserved. The lyrical execution for Lucky You was nothing short of perfection either. 

The set was a mix of surprise and nostalgic delight. A highlight was Skylar Grey who first joined Eminem on stage to perform Walk On Water, later followed by Stan, The Monster and Love The Way You Lie. Grey co-wrote the latter and the audience, not skipping a beat,  sang along word for word. Boogie and Royce da 5’9” also reappeared for cameos with the headliner. And as for the spontaneous onstage explosions … let;’s just say they had the sonic impact of a bomb going off. 

The Real Slim Shady made use of the expansive stage running from one end to the other, “feeding off the crowd’s energy” and delivering nothing but 100% showmanship and proving why he is the best of the best. Wherever he went, or whatever direction he was taking, the audience were right there with him, hanging on every word. 

My Name Is, The Real Slim Shady and Without Me were a rollercoaster ride back to the early days of Mathers and reminded us of how the legend was build. 

Then there was the encore. Eminem took to the stage one more time and performed Lose Yourself  … taking  us back to that 8 Mile Road and suddenly it was 2002 all over again. 

Eminem put on one hell of a show – almost making up for the poor choice of venue. 

Words: Laryssa Fiu

Photo: Jeremy Deputat