At the first of two concerts - the second one is set for Saturday - the stars showed they are a good pairing and know how to mix it up on stage.
James Keivom/New York Daily NewsJay-Z (left) and Justin Timberlake showed they are a dynamic duo on stage at Yankee Stadium Friday night.
The musical bromance of the year reached a high-fiving peak when Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake hooked up for a show Friday at Yankee Stadium.
At the first of two concerts - the second one is set for Saturday - the stars exuded the sure and easy rapport of a pared-down, modern answer to the Rat Pack.
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In case you missed the point, the poster for the modestly named "Legends of the Summer" tour shows both Justin and Jay in identical retro tuxes. The show, which boasted hit after hit, allowed far more interaction between the headliners than Jay's last co-headlining gig at this same Stadium two years ago with Eminem. There, the stars kept largely to themselves.
Here, the top-liners nearly completed each other's sentences. The pair opened with their rapped/sung song "Holy Grail," expressing a love-hate relationship with celebrity culture. They then launched into Jay's old track "I Just Wanna Love You," fused with Timberlake's "Rock Your Body," the connecting point being both songs' original production by The Neptunes.
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The duo, appearing on a chic crimson-colored stage illuminated by 3-D lighting effects, benefited from a 14-piece backup band that proved equally adept at the rhythms of rock, hip-hop or soul.
Throughout the night, Jay and Justin traded places at center stage.
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Timberlake proved the creaminess of his tone, and the agility of his range, in hits like "My Love," "Like I Love You" and "Senorita." Jay-Z added more brisk and witty contrasts in his beat-savvy raps in hits like "To The Next One," "Big Pimpin' " and "Jigga What, Jigga Who."
The two stars mixed it up best in "99 Problems," folding in Aerosmith's "Walk This Way," with Timberlake taking Joe Perry's metallic guitar part. In a cover of The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" they blended Timberlake's pure cover with Jay's hit that samples it, "Izzo." Clever mash-ups like this gave the night a thrilling fluidity, creating a one-on-one superstar match that clicked.
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