Jay-Z and Kanye West's Watch the Throne Tour in Miami, November 15

Sometimes, though, the script became a little too sterile. And luckily, there were a couple of odd occurrences that added an element of unpredictability to Watching the Throne.

Example: During "Run This Town," some 30-something dude in a purple button-up who was seated several rows from the edge of the stage pulled out a bundle of (fake?) bills and made it rain, hurling his cash toward Jay-Z and Kanye. The money fluttered to the rappers' feet and they played along, throwing it back into the crowd.

Photo by Sayre Berman

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Meanwhile, security seized upon the cash man as he begged for leniency. But away from that central dispute, a skirmish broke out between a few female audience members, one of which may have been the money-thrower's girlfriend. And it all got wild enough to attract Jay-Z's attention, who tried to quell the catfight and call off the security goons, saying, "Y'all let those people enjoy the show. They paid for their ticket. Let them rock."

His Hovatastic Majesty had spoken. But as soon as he shifted back to entertaining the masses, security finished the job and dragged the cash man out of his seat.

Another amusing example of the unplanned: Just moments after Kanye strutted around triumphantly atop his red, glowing LED platform, doling out tidbits of romantic advice ("Ladies, stop checkin' emails ... God invented emails so niggas can get away with shit") and introducing his heavily Auto-Tuned hit "Runaway" ("Love don't last forever, so if you love someone tonight, hold on real tight"), Yeezy's wireless mike began to die in the middle of the song, crackling and croaking like an overemotional robot having a breakdown and trying to cry.

Photo by Sayre Berman

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With a twinge of panic in his machine-processed voice, Ye called for another microphone. But he was 25 feet in the air. So ... What? Who? How? Apparently, though, the King's minions had planned for exactly this kind of minor emergency. And a roadie came to the rescue, handing the rapper a fresh mike with a completely ridiculous looking 30-foot-long grip arm.

However, those type of unscripted moments were just funny asides from the main event -- a glossy, somewhat schizophrenic show packed with everyone's favorite tracks that never scrimped on paying back the $250 cost of a ticket.

Sure, there were corny moments like His Majesty and King Kanye's segue dialogue between "Big Pimpin'," "Gold Digger," and "99 Problems":

Kanye: "I watched that video back in the day, all that 'Big Pimpin'' stuff. And I looked up to you, Jay. I said, 'When I get my money, I'm gonna try all that 'Big Pimpin'' stuff. But then you know what happened?"

Jay-Z: "What, Ye?"

Cue "Gold Digger" -- "She take my money!"

Jay-Z: "That's fucked up, man. She shouldn't be doin' that. All I gotta say is ..."

Cue "99 Problems" -- "If you're havin' girl problems, I feel bad for you, son/I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one."

And then there were ostensibly spontaneous sequences, like Hova and Yeezy's supposedly rapturous stab at "Niggas in Paris," which they performed twice in a row, closing the show before reemerging for an encore of, uh, "Niggas in Paris," "Niggas in Paris," and "Niggas in Paris." It was alternately thrilling, numbingly repetitive, and kind of hypnotic.

Photo by Sayre Berman

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So ultimately, while the experience was sometimes sterile, often absurd, and frequently scattered, a night with Jay, Ye, and the Throne still turned out to be a stylish, superexpensive, and perfectly calibrated celebration of excess.

Exactly the kind of schtick befitting a couple of Kings.

Critic's Notebook

The Crowd: Celbs and norms, chicks in sequined cocktail dresses, homeboys in dirty t-shirts, avid Forbes readers in expensive dark blue business suits, locked-out NBA players like LeBron, D-Wade, and Amar'e Stoudemire -- plus, according to Jay-Z's personal shootout, Will "The Fresh Prince" Smith.

Jay-Z and Kanye's Setlist
-"H.A.M."
-"Who Gon Stop Me"
-"Try a Little Tenderness" (Otis Redding interlude)
-"Otis"
-"Welcome to the Jungle"
-"Gotta Have It"
-"Where I'm From"
-"Nigga What, Nigga Who (Originator 99)"
-"Can't Tell Me Nothing"
-"Flashing Lights"
-"Jesus Walks"
-"Diamonds Are Forever"
-"Public Service Announcement"
-"U Don't Know"
-"Run This Town"
-"Monster"
-"Power"
-"Made in America"
-"New Day"
-"Hard Knock Life"
-"Izzo (H.O.V.A.)"
-"Empire State of Mind"
-"Runaway"
-"Heartless"
-"Stronger"
-"On to the Next One"
-"Dirt Off Your Shoulder"
-"I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)"
-"That's My Bitch"
-"Good Life"
-"Touch the Sky"
-"All of the Lights"
-"Big Pimpin'"
-"Gold Digger"
-"99 Problems"
-"What a Wonderful World" (Louis Armstrong interlude)
-"No Church in the Wild"
-"Lift Off"
-"Niggas in Paris" (Once)
-"Niggas in Paris" (Twice)

Encore
-"Niggas in Paris" (Thrice)
-"Niggas in Paris" (Four fucking times)
-"Niggas in Paris" (And yeah, a fifth and final take)

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