If I had a dollar for every time Rihanna or Akon shouted “(blah blah blah) Mon-tree-aaaa-all!” last night, I’d have retired to Bermuda by now. The co-headliners needn’t have stopped at the dollar store of stage banter so often; anyone so easily impressed by hearing their city’s name from a star’s mouth would have been even more impressed at the undeniable double-your fun talent.

Rihanna was up first, with a set so calculated, she was in danger of being a black hole of spontaneity. (When the set list includes cues to “let audience applaud before starting,” you need to loosen up.) Her lack of risk was surpassed only by her lack of sincerity. To wit: “It feels so good to be here once again, in my favourite city in the world!” Think she said “Get lost, Stinktown” in Toronto?

Despite moments that seemed like rehearsals for the MTV Video Music Awards, she got a true party vibe going, thanks largely to a wall of noise suggesting she’d rather be a rock star than a pop princess. Let Me and Breakin’ Dishes had guitars to match their towering hooks, and Rihanna would have been forgiven for keeping the volume in the red all night.
Akon followed Rihanna to the stage at the Bell Centre last night.View Larger Image View Larger Image
Akon followed Rihanna to the stage at the Bell Centre last night.

She didn’t. The cool-blue Rehab and a breezy cover of Bob Marley’s Is This Love were testament to her broad range, although the home stretch was even better: a pulsating Don’t Stop the Music, Shut Up and Drive, and Umbrella - a feel-great song powerful enough to survive some crushingly obvious visual cues brandished by the back-up dancers.

If Rihanna got people out of their seats, Akon made them hit the ceiling. After a hyperactive DJ crossed the fine line between building anticipation and babbling on like an idiot, he finally introduced his boss and triggered an eruption of mania.

Confident without crossing into insufferable arrogance, Akon swaggered from stage left to stage right and turned the Bell Centre into an 11,870-capacity nightclub. He was more one-note than Rihanna, but got considerable mileage from that one note - booming bass and sensitive-tough-guy ghetto stories.

He had the crowd at hello (or rather, “Montreal!”). By the time he donned a personalized Canadiens jersey, he could do no wrong. Well, actually, he could. Asking “should we do one more warm-up record, or should we just get started with the show?” 20 minutes in should have been a cocksure way to jack up the momentum, but instead was a cue for Akon to do sit-ups, push-ups, and give pickup tips (”When you look at her, all you gotta say is ‘Akon.’ “). Finally, just as deadline called, he plugged into a massive groove, and gave another example of why he and Rihanna were so much more convincing when they shut up and sang.
Source: The Gazette