The most anticipated sporting event of the year has now finally come to a close. Sunday, December 8, 2024, saw the conclusion of yet another F1 Grand Prix, taking place at the Yas Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Though Max Verstappen will take 1st place via points, Lando Norris won yesterday’s race, putting him and team McLaren in second place for 2024.
But (arguably) the main highlight of the weekend wasn’t burnt rubber and high powered engines, but rather the titanic thunder of Eminem and Muse playing back to back concerts on Saturday and Sunday night, respectively.
Eminem erupted from a grave marked Slim Shady, donning that infamous Jason Voorhees-like hockey mask familiar to anyone continuously bumping the bleach haired rapper in the early 2000s. The one-man hit factory pumped out classic after classic, with the entire crowd singing along like a choreographed choir that had been preparing for this moment for over twenty years.
Expectedly, Eminem closed the show with Lose Yourself, a song so engrained into our public psyche that one can’t possibly hear the words ‘mom’ and ‘spaghetti’ in the same sentence, if at all, without alluding it to the Detroit rapper.
On Sunday night, British rock-band, Muse, took to the stage, and delivered one of the most memorable, high octane performances in recent memory.
Not to take anything away from you, Marshall Mathers, but as good as you were, there’s just something that happens to a crowd when they’re given a mega dose of distortion and electric guitars. Lead singer/guitarist, Matthew James Bellamy, riffed on Led Zeppelin covers, while once again reminding everyone the power of rock and roll. From senior citizens to young boys sitting on their father’s shoulders, the crowd was as electric as Bellamy’s lead guitar.
Abu Dhabi continues to make a name for itself in the international sports scene, and with last year boasting Foo Fighters and Shania Twain for the F1 weekend, one can only salivate over who they’ll bring in next year.