September 26th, 2009 
Val Provided by Pitchfork
The single best reason to go see Jay-Z live is Jay-Z himself. Onstage, Jay is so regal it’s unreal. His catalog of hits is ridiculously deep, his ability to transition between songs is unparalleled, and his live band is one of the few in rap who actually enhance songs rather than just cluttering them up with extraneous solos. The second best reason to see Jay is the guest appearances, especially if you’re near New York. He hasn’t been doing it as much lately, but you never know when Beyoncé or Kanye or Freeway might turn up for a brief cameo. The third-best reason? The opening acts.
But even if Jay’s tourmates are usually something like an afterthought, he’s got that aspect of his show planned out nicely for his forthcoming college-heavy arena tour. N.E.R.D. also did opening-act duty on Kanye West’s 2008 Glow in the Dark tour, so they’re veterans at this sort of thing, and their presence means Pharrell might do his “I Just Wanna Love U” guest-vocal on any given night. D.C. up-and-comer Wale doesn’t have as much arena experience, but it’ll be fun to see how his slippery flow translates to bigger venues. Jay’s new protégé J. Cole rounds out the bill, so this tour will probably be the highlight of his entire life thus far. Dates below.
Jay-Z:
10-09 State College, PA – Bryce Jordan Center *
10-10 Highland Heights, KY – The Bank of Kentucky Center *
10-13 Edmonton, Alberta – Rexall Place *
10-14 Calgary, Alberta – Pengrowth Saddledome *
10-15 Kelowna, British Columbia – Prospera Place *
10-16 Vancouver, British Columbia – General Motors Place *
10-17 Seattle, WA – Key Arena *
10-21 Ypsilanti, MI – Convocation Center *
10-23 Philadelphia, PA – Wachovia Center *
10-24 Providence, RI – Dunkin Donuts Center *
10-25 Amherst, MA – Mullins Center *
10-27 Baltimore, MD – 1st Mariner Arena *
10-28 Columbus, OH – Value City Arena Ohio State *
10-29 London, Ontario – John Labatt Centre *
10-30 Montreal, Quebec – Centre Bell Centre *
10-31 Toronto, Ontario – Air Canada Centre *
11-01 Ottawa, Ontario – Scotiabank Place *
11-07 Fresno, CA – Save Mart Center *
11-12 Champaign, IL – University of Illinois, Assembly Hall *
11-19 Albuquerque, NM – Tingley Coliseum *
11-20 El Paso, TX – Don Haskins Center *
11-21 Lubbock, TX – United Spirit Arena *
11-22 Austin, TX – Frank Erwin Center Arena *
* with N.E.R.D., Wale, J. Cole
- Jay-Z Sampling Regina Spektor on New Track - October 5, 2009
- Devendra Banhart and the GZA to Team Up - October 5, 2009
- Lil’ Wayne Raps on New Weezer Album - October 5, 2009
Posted in 
Tags: 