Jay-Z and Kanye West: a creative set list
Vevo / Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images
Kanye West (left) and Jay-Z might not limit themselves to one performance per song when they play HP Pavilion.
What happens when two of the biggest rap stars in the universe join forces? It becomes nearly impossible to get a turn at the air hockey table at the local Chuck E. Cheese's. A lot of other crazy stuff happens, too, it turns out, as evidenced by early reviews of Jay-Z and Kanye West's joint tour, which touches down this week at HP Pavilion in San Jose.
The duo is playing a 2 1/2-hour set loaded with their solo hits as well as songs from their gold-encrusted collaborative album, "Watch the Throne." Some more than others. At the show in Detroit, they performed "N- in Paris" seven times in a row. If only we should be so lucky!
Below is a sneak peek at the rest of the set list.
1. "HAM"
2. "Who Gon Stop Me"
3. "Otis"
4. "Welcome to the Jungle"
5. "Gotta Have It"
Field notes: The evening kicks off with a batch of songs from "Watch the Throne," which sees Jay and Kanye trade a barrage of naughty words before grooving to an Otis Redding sample and performing a track in which the former describes himself as the "black Axl Rose." Is that a good thing?
6. "Where I'm From"
7. "N- What, N- Who?"
8. "Can't Tell Me Nothing"
9. "Flashing Lights"
10. "Jesus Walks"
11. "All Falls Down"
12. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone"
Field notes: And then it's Kanye for a set of typically humble offerings in which he compares himself to Christ and celebrates his tendency to throw tantrums at awards shows.
13. "Hard Knock Life"
14. "U Don't Know"
15. "Run This Town"
16. "Monster"
17. "Power"
18. "Made It in America"
19. "New Day"
20. "Hard Knock Life"
21. "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)"
22. "Empire State of Mind"
Field notes: Back to Jay for a run through his most iconic hits (with a little interlude for Kanye's "Power" and another track from "Throne"). The "Annie" soundtrack sampling "Hard Knock Life" will certainly be a highlight, as will everyone's second favorite song about New York.
23. "Runaway"
24. "Heartless"
25. "Stronger"
26. "On to the Next One"
27. "Dirt Off Your Shoulder"
28. "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)"
29. "That's My Bitch"
30. "Good Life"
31. "Touch the Sky"
32. "All of the Lights"
33. "Big Pimpin' "
34. "Gold Digger"
35. "99 Problems"
Field notes: For the lightning round, the duo takes turns blazing through solo hits - roughly three at a time - with another "Throne" track thrown in. The best part promises to be when they pingpong Kanye's "Gold Digger" into Jay-Z's "99 Problems."
36. "No Church in the Wild"
37. "Lift Off"
38. "N- in Paris"
Field notes: And finally, three big ones from the new album - symphonic, delusional, grand tracks that will sound massive in an arena despite the absence of key collaborators Frank Ocean and Beyonc. If the rappers are feeling particularly ambi! tious, t hey might even perform the last song eight times. {sbox}
Jay-Z and Kanye West: 7:30 p.m. Wed. $59.50-$250. HP Pavilion, 525 W. Santa Clara St., San Jose. (408) 998-8497. www.ticketmaster.com.
This article appeared on page Q - 30 of the SanFranciscoChronicle
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