mistyrose
War Child
NME
29th October 2004
EMINEM'S BALLROOM BLITZ !
EMINEM made a rare live appearance at a secret gig in NEW YORK last
night.
Eminem walked onstage at New York’s Roseland Ballroom (October 28)
wearing a dark blue suit, white collared shirt, red tie, and a pair of
pink fuzzy bunny rabbit slippers.
The 2,500 capacity venue was decked out like a patriotic prom complete
with swanky cheese plates and an open bar in the VIP section, and
‘Shady National Convention’ signs, buttons and bumper stickers on hand
for everyone else.
The performance was a poorly kept secret, and most of the fans who
received tickets seem to have won them off a local radio station, who
broadcast the performance live.
The event was attended by U2 singer Bono, who wore a cowboy hat, and a
collection of hip-hop names like Redman, Obie Trice, many of whom made
guest appearances on stage.
The event began as a mock convention speech with Donald Trump
introducing Marshall Mathers, who stepped up to a podium and explained
his desire to run for office.
"I’ve witnessed the political rhetoric in this country – did I
pronounce that word right? Rhetoric?" he asked jokingly, adding "So
I’ve created my own party, the Shady party" which caused an eruption of
applause.
Then the stage set changed, and the show began. Eminem opened with new
the politically charged new song ‘Mosh’, performed while the stunning
new animated video for the song played on a giant screen behind him.
Over 20 different tracks were performed by Eminem and his guests which
included D12, Busta Rhymes, Proof, Obie Trice and 50 Cent, among
others.
Eminem performed tracks off his older records, like ‘Kill You’, but
stuck primarily to his new record, and to his friends’ material like
D-12’s hit singles ‘How Come’, and ‘My Band’, and 50’s forever catchy
‘In Da Club’.
Eminem closed with the first single off his new record, ‘Just Lose It’,
which he introduced by saying: "My whole career has been based on
controversy…my motto in 2004 is if you can’t take a motherfucking joke,
then beat it" – a reference to the uproar surrounding the video for the
song, in which Eminem mocks Michael Jackson.
(c) NME.com
I do like Em though, his new song is kinda extra-retarded but he has some good stuff...and I'm glad Bono respects him, that way we won't have to hear Em try to bash Bono in one of his songs 
