Dre Tripping

Of course, the audience was equally primed to see Eminem, who was sandwiched between the Cube and Dre-Snoop sets. Looking like a schoolyard basketball player in sneakers and baggy shorts, the artist occasionally known as Slim Shady proved to be as deft a live rapper as he is on record. But his performance wasn't the roof-raiser it promised to be, given the heat currently surrounding him. Maybe it was the 35-minute length, or a sound system that reduced the music to thudding beats, or his onstage shtick (as he has done at other stops, he started ''My Name Is'' before abruptly stopping: ''Yo, I'm sick of that f---ing song''). Or maybe it was his odd detachment. Even as the crowd sang along with every one of his belligerent-brat rhymes and swipes, Eminem's face conveyed only implacable passivity. Combined with his pent-up lyrics, the effect was neither powerful nor cathartic, just creepy. ''How many [of you] are more f---ed up than I am?'' he asked at one point. Thankfully, not many in the crowd shouted back.