Eminem repeatedly and profanely reminded a packed Rose Bowl stadium that he doesn't much care about anything, as he and Rihanna opened their six-date Monster Tour onThursday night.
Then the Detroit rapper belied his words by delivering a boisterous, full-throttle performance that vastly outshone Rihanna's own.
The duo came onstage together, Rihanna clad in a black track suit laced with orange flames and Eminem strapped to a hospital bed in his signature grey hoodie, and immediately unveiled Numb and No Love (Don't Hurt Me). The musicians traded the spotlight for a while, with Eminem taking over Jay-Z's part on Run This Town, until Eminem yielded the stage to Rihanna for nearly an hour. The singer mostly revisited her setlist — with corresponding visuals — from last year's Diamonds World Tour, which borrowed heavily from her 2012 album Unapologetic.
Bolstered by eight dancers and a live band, Rihanna strutted and gyrated around the stage, frequently thrusting and groping her crotch. The singer managed to pound out a slew of hits in shotgun fashion, including Talk That Talk, Rude Boy, Umbrella and Pour It Up.
Toward the end of her run, the lights dimmed and the crowd raised glowing cell phones to accompany Stay, an evocative ballad that concluded with fireworks leaping up from behind the stage. As the lights rose again, Eminem returned and the duo combined their voices for Love the Way You Lie.
Eminem's portion of the set, which was aided by the rapper's former D12 compatriot Mr. Porter, opened with a surge of energy, one the audience had clearly been holding in anticipation as Rihanna performed. The rapper, casually dressed in a white T-shirt and camouflage shorts, responded in turn, rapping with aggressive enthusiasm on hits such as Marshall Mathers and The Way I Am.
The show seamlessly shifted between the two musicians, who had no opening act. Rihanna filled in for Dido on Stan, and the pair offered a cover of B.o.B. and Hayley Williams' 2010 single Airplanes.
Rihanna took the spotlight for a few more of her hits, including Diamonds and We Found Love, toward the end of the night following Eminem's performance of Not Afraid. But the emphasis lingered on the other headliner. It was the Eminem show, no question. . His renditions of Lose Yourself, from his film 8 Mile, and The Real Slim Shady, earned an impressive response, notable reminders of Eminem's sizable influence on music and pop culture over the past two decades.
The pair is scheduled to perform again Friday at the Rose Bowl before heading to East Rutherford, N.J. (Aug. 16-17) and Detroit (Aug. 22-23).
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