Ticket touts are in for a luckless night as the world’s worst kept secret concerning the planet’s biggest pop star is well and truly out. No one’s stupid enough to sell and risk missing seeing Eminem without the aid of binoculars or giant screens.
While the beered-up ‘whiteys’ lap-up Top 40 hip-hop spun by the laughable, yet equally enthralling, caricature Tim ‘I only play 30 seconds of each track’ Westwood, dotmusic fills the time afforded us by the obligatory delayed start – they are a mere ninety minutes late – to debate Marshall’s motives for resurrecting D12.
If he needs an excuse, then loyalty is an oft-cited reason to hang out with his five best mates. He’s got a heart of gold you know. It’s more likely that he’s bored playing good old Eminem and needs an escape from the pop carousel he rides.
But it’s not like his retreat into D12 offers fans anything different or a slant on his chart persona. If anything, aside from being fractionally more obscene, the dirty half dozen rigidly follow the comic Dre-inspired formula laid down on the "Slim Shady LP".
Still, there’s no denying that D12 are a class act. Predictably Eminem immediately steals the opener "Shit Can Happen" simply because he’s instantly the most gifted rapper on show, but the contest is less clear-cut from here on as Slim recoils to the background popping-up with as much frequency as his fellow 12ers.
"Pistol Pistol" is a fairer battle as the Empire shakes to the sound of five very different MCs varying for a little stage room. Everyone breathes in to make room for Bizarre to enter the frame but they needn’t have bothered. His sluggish flow doesn’t translate, although the sight of a sumo wrestler in a shower cap is certainly something to behold.
Kon Artis and Proof are the real stars, given Eminem’s reluctance to dominate, but it’s sickeningly a real team effort. "Fight Music" and "Purple Pills" are supremely executed while new cuts "D12 World", "Pour Your 40 Out" and the hilariously choreographed "My Band" – complete with boyband crescendo - suggest D12 deserve to be taken ‘seriously’ in their own right.
There’s even the unexpected treat of solo tracks "Under The Influence" and "Just Don’t Give A F*ck", but tonight is all about another side of the story. For a meagre forty-five minutes, Eminem has five other sets of shoulders to share the burden of his unprecedented celebrity, to share his tireless mission to spit vitriol at the world. The thing is, if he weren’t so damn good on his own, we’d be guaranteed to see a lot more of his band.
Be thankful he’s given us the chance to enjoy the best of both worlds.
