I totally forgot that I was going to this, until my friend, who bought me a ticket as a Christmas present, emailed me to remind me that it was on. I don’t know why I didn’t remember it because I’m a massive fan of Kanye West; yes including a good portion of the 808′s and Heartbreak album!
I’ve heard many outrageous stories of his diva behaviour on stage. Most lately I heard that he booted someone out of a concert, during the Watch The Throne tour in the states, because one of the concert goers threw up a business card, or something of the sort – supposedly it was a safety hazard.
Anyhow, lucky for me, I did get to see a glimpse of it. He is known for being a perfectionist, and it was a sight to see him, when he stopped a song to restart it, because the lighting wasn’t right. I know people think he’s a diva, and he probably is, but I think it’s adds to the concert going experience.
From the start of the concert, right up until the end, it was a grand spectacle. Ballerinas running across the stage, and around in circles, pyrotechnics and laser shows were seen throughout the concert, and it was a sight to see.
You could really tell that everyone was having a great time, and that Kanye was lapping and living up every minute of it. If you looked around at any time during the concert, you could see pretty much all of the seated crowd, standing. Like how the cliche saying goes, you just had to be there, to understand it.
The song selection was expansive, ranging from each album, save for the Jay-Z collaboration, Watch The Throne. Kanye even dropped songs that he featured in, but wasn’t the main artist. The one that really stood out for me, was American Boy, which was by Estelle, but he dropped his 16 bars, and I lost my shit. It was crazy, or as Kanye would say, “That Shit Cray!”. The crowd was into each song, from the empowering tune of Power, to the sombre-ridden Say You Will.
Kanye West, call him whatever you like, but there’s no denying that he isn’t one of the best entertainers alive today.
Marlen
February 22, 2012 at 4:44 am
I had heard of Kanye West, but never seen him a great tneeamtst to the fact that the concert experience is multi-sensory: auditory, visual and even tactile given the vibrations that hit your body, the temperature of the arena, and whatever materials or substances you interact with (from confetti to mist, etc.). Blue Man Group is another great example of this, where the drumming is just one part of an extraordinary sensory experience. Thanks for posting this. Nicolas