In the paraphrased words of one disgruntled fan on the
Facebook page of Eminem’s Australian tour manager, Dainty Group: the songs were Slim and the sound production was Shady.
This commentator is one of many pissed off people who attended the iconic rapper’s two shows at the Sydney Football Stadium last weekend.
As with any superstar’s hardcore fans, Eminem’s followers certainly can get 'rowdy', as well as complain when something doesn’t live up to much-hyped expectations.
And with this being his first Aussie concert in over 10 years, can you really blame them for being shitty?
From somebody whom herself was sitting in the effected outer stand area, I can report that the sound 'production' was indeed borderline non-existent.
Whilst not the most hardcore of Eminem fans – there is no Kappa or Fubu in my closet, thank you – I was hysterically excited for the show. He’s an icon for my generation, non-negotiable.
This means that listening to him play like he was performing in a house next door, underwater or possibly whilst muffled with a dirty sock, wasn’t the best thing ever.
But did I enjoy myself? Yes, immensely so.
OK, so this may have had something to do with the quarter box of goon I downed (just playing the part of the Eminem fan) during the relatively brief concert.
Chair crumping and dead brain cells aside, however, I definitely ended the show appreciating that, all sound problems aside, the dude knows how to work a crowd.
(And I don't think he was lip-synching, as some more desperately angry attendees have since suggested.)
It started with a suitably theatrical production which, in essence, showed how Eminem has emerged from the ashes of rehabilitation – kinda like a drug-addled phoenix – to the post of his former glory.
Highlights included 'Lose Yourself', "Toy Soldiers', and pretty much any of the artist’s earlier hits with recognizable choruses.
Tellingly, it was in these hyped song moments – when the crowd was singing fervently along - that the audio was better, presumably because we were hearing each other and feeling like we were a part of something historical.
I did feel a little jibbed – as many have commented on the Facebook page – about Eminem mashing together key songs like Stan and Without Me, but I’m not exactly going to write to Fair Trading NSW about it like some are threatening (puh-lease).
In fact, for somebody with so many hits, it’s definitely worth applauding the fact he managed to cram over 30 songs into a one and a half hour set – a length of time most artists could only fit 14 tracks into.
The crammed show meant I ended the night feeling like I'd just watched a non-stop action thriller – I didn’t zone out once like you can sometimes do at concerts.
WORDS: Emilia Terzon
PHOTO: Herald Sun