Jay-Z and Kanye West dazzle T.O. with marathon show

Date: Thursday Nov. 24, 2011 7:42 AM ET

TORONTO In the first hour of Kanye West and Jay-Z's marathon show at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday, West let the beat drop while performing his hit "All Falls Down" and the Toronto crowd quickly picked him up, a faithful choir crooning the song's memorable chorus en masse.

Most performers would've milked the moment, but West merely smirked before launching into his next marquee tune, sending the assemblage into another frenzy.

At the two-hour- and 20-minute-long show, two of hip-hop's biggest stars made a convincing case for their self-appointed royal status, breathlessly charging through hit after hit, an adoring crowd in eager pursuit.

"Tonight, we're living our dream in front of y'all, Toronto," Jay-Z said in introducing the duo's rags-to-riches collaboration "Made in America."

"How far are you living that dream right now? We feel you."

It was a rare bit of banter in a show too tightly packed to afford much time for small talk.

Kicking off the show with "H.A.M.," Jay-Z and West stood at opposite ends of the arena floor on raised square platforms. The closely bunched crowd -- mostly composed of 20- and 30-somethings -- roared its approval as the satellite stages slowly raised, video images of barking dogs splashed across their sides.

But such neat tricks were employed sparingly.

Their collaborative album "Watch the Throne" -- which opened at No. 1 on the charts in the U.S. and Canada and has since been certified platinum -- is about money, power and excess, and yet these two rap titans presented the record in a fashion that could almost be described as minimalist.

Sure, hiccuping banger "Otis" was accompanied by bursting flames, while the stage was appropriately aglow during "All of the Lights" (West paused the song twice to make sure that was the case, a knowing wink to his perfectionist tendencies that he's employed on other dates on this tour). And for whatever reason, the n! ature vi deos were a theme of the evening, with sharks, tigers and wolves also making cameos.

Yet most of the evening's tunes were delivered with a more stark esthetic. For West's conflicted anthem "Can't Buy Me Nothing," he appeared as a silhouette against a backdrop of smoke and lasers. And for a short stretch that included Jay's biggest early breakout hit -- the "Annie"-aping "Hard Knock Life" -- the rappers sat down next to one another onstage with the house lights dim, fostering an intimacy rare for shows held in hockey arenas.

Even their clothing was fairly restrained, with both artists clad all in black (a Yankees cap fixed to Jay-Z's head, of course), though West wore a garment that, to the untrained eye, looked like a black leather skirt dangling over his slim black pants.

Of course, these songs required no dressing up.

As might be expected from two stars who seem to crank out hits as easily as a prime Pete Rose -- West and Jay-Z combined have authored 16 chart-topping studio albums -- there was no shortage of audience-rousing anthems to call upon, and the show seemed oriented for maximum crowd-pleasing effect.

"Izzo" flowed into "Empire State of Mind," followed by "Runaway," "Heartless" and "Stronger," while the one-two punch of "Gold Digger" and "99 Problems" was one of the show's highlights, with West rapping the role of the crusty cop in the latter. The rappers appeared together plenty, but each also ceded the spotlight to the other for a spell. The energy level never dipped as the two MCs ran through more than three dozen of their best-known tunes.

"Watch The Throne" presented easy opportunities to contrast the unique appeal of these two genre giants, and so did Wednesday's show. Jay-Z is the street-savvy, impossible-to-ruffle hustler, so smoothly precise with his verbiage that he can spin intricate lyrical yarns with a yawn. West, meanwhile, is petulant, flawed, confessional and altogether fascinating, an unrivalled, unravelled hip-hop architect with the audacity! to craf t some of the most ambitious music in modern pop.

And they seem to bring out the best in each other.

West, easily the more playful of the two songwriters, delivered his solo songs with passion and intensity, but smiled much more easily when sharing the stage with his partner. Jay-Z, meanwhile, had a masterful command over the crowd, issuing instructions with the warm but firm tone of a dog trainer.

"Toronto, we appreciate all your hospitality," he said at one point.

For West, it was his unimpeachable catalogue of innovative hits that would bring the crowd enthusiastically to its feet again and again. His skyscraper of a single "Runaway" provided one of the evening's most memorable moments, with West delivering the self-immolating screed from a gigantic red cube in the middle of the crowd. After following with an equally rousing version of his moody chiller "Heartless," West broke into a genuinely giddy smile before struggling to adopt a sterner look for "Stronger."

Jay-Z's performance was, unsurprisingly, less dramatic. But he maintained a firm grip over the audience, at one point effortlessly leading a singalong while performing his '98 single with the sanitized title "Jigga What, Jigga Who," while directing each side of the crowd to take turns shouting in excitement.

"I like this side way better," he said, pointing to his left.

Fortunately -- with two of the most dazzling stars hip-hop has ever produced sharing the stage so amicably -- the audience didn't need to make any similar judgments.

West and Jay-Z were scheduled to perform at the Air Canada Centre on Thursday, with their joint tour set to wrap with the second of two shows at Vancouver's Rogers Arena on Dec. 18.