Kick Out the Jams

Opening bands blowing everyone else off the stage is nothing new at a rock concert, but it's a rare occurrence at a hip-hop show. A good hip-hop show is more or less a party, with the opening acts heating up the audience's collective ass until the headliner arrives to bring about an everybody-jump-now climax. This was not necessarily the case Friday night at the Hard Rock, but then again, these were no mere rap groups.

Virginia rap duo Clipse got the party started with its hits, "When the Last Time" and "Grindin'." After an unnecessarily long delay, the Black Eyed Peas arrived. The response (and the walk-outs once their energetic set was over) proved that although N.E.R.D. was headlining, everyone was really there to see the Peas: MCs Will.I.Am, Taboo and Apl de Ap and singer/bootyshaker Fergie. The group tore into material from 2003's Elephunk, backed by an impressively versatile four-piece band.

A Black Eyed Peas show is easily one of the best hip-hop concerts around. Club thumpers like "Hands Up" and "Hey Mama" give way to extended musical improvisations and blistering break dancing, while songs like "Shut Up" showcase the singing skills of Fergie and show why the group has received as much critical acclaim as party popularity. They only slow things down to build the intensity up again, as evidenced by an incredible and lengthy freestyle session in which each performer took a turn to shine on the mic. The set was capped with an encore jam that spilled into their biggest hit, "Where Is the Love."

After a quick two-song set from backing band Spymob, Pharrell Williams and his buddy Shae Haley (sans multi-instrumentalist Chad Hugo, who, along with Williams, comprises super-producers the Neptunes) took the stage among purple and red lights and blazing guitars. Williams' exposure as Grammy-winning producer and falsetto-crooning foil to Jay-Z has created an odd effect on his own side project, essentially a rock-funk band with hip-hop sensibilities. Watching N.E.R.D. is like seeing an old friend reunite with his high school band that was never such a big deal. However, there is nothing played out about N.E.R.D.'s songs; they're fun and funky and great to sing along to. But with only Williams' boyish charisma to rely on, the live show is nowhere near as fun and exciting as the new album, Fly or Die, and the show is nowhere near the level of performance of the Black Eyed Peas.--Brock Radke