Eminem's uneventful Australian gig

Eminem: Has been criticised for his stage show

The first date of Eminem's controversial Australian shows has taken place with far less incident than the row leading up to it.

Despite intensive media attention on the battle to keep the rapper out of the country, only two thirds of tickets for his show had been sold by Thursday evening.

The venue also hosts the Australian Open tennis

Reports say there were no protests outside the Rod Laver Arena, but that there was a visible police presence in case of trouble.

The Grammy-winning star had faced criticism from family and community groups, who complained that his lyrics depict violence, killings and anti-gay sentiment.

But they failed to convince the government to refuse the American star an entry visa.

Reports on nme.com described fans at Thursday's show as "perfectly behaved".

The rapper will play his second and final Australian show in Sydney on Friday.

Fans gathered

Sydney authorities have granted him permission to take his show's traditional opening prop, a chainshaw, on stage - as long as he removes all the teeth.

The Australian media had been following Eminem's movements closely since flying in from Los Angeles on Tuesday, and some fans had gathered outside the star's Melbourne hotel during the day on Thursday.

He kept out of the public eye until the show - but members of his hip-hop group D12 did appear in public, arguing that their lyrics should not be seen as offensive.

'Point the finger'

"There's only one thing that speaks louder than words and that's action," said Proof, one band member who has been rapping with Eminem since they were teenagers.

"You can watch TV or a movie and see somebody kill 80 people, yet they still want to point the finger at music. It's so stupid," he told The Australian newspaper.

The Melbourne concert took place in the 15,000-capacity Rod Laver Arena - the same place that hosts the Australian Open tennis tournament.

Australian PM Howard: Spoke of his Concern

The arena had billed Eminem's show as: "The man...the myth... the maniac is coming to Australia."

But only two-thirds of tickets had been sold by 1800 local time (0900 BST), the Arena told BBC News Online.

The Sydney venue has also sold about two thirds of its tickets, reports say.

Australian pressure groups began their calls to ban Eminem from the country in May.

One Australian MP described the rapper's music as "sickening", while Prime Minister John Howard has spoken of his concern about the negative impact the star could have on young fans.

But the government decided to grant him a visa to enter the country a week before the first show.

Australian Family Association national secretary Bill Meuhlenberg said after the decision: "Given the nature of the content and lyrics we are trying to keep the young people out of these concerts."