By YOUSEF FATEHPOUR
The Yeezus Tour, Kanye West’s first sold-out solo concert in five years, is just like Kanye himself: Eccentric, loud and powerful.
Staples Center went dark, fog cultivated the room, it was like being stuck in the epicenter of a Marlboro cigarette factory. All of a sudden, the live band started playing “Money Trees” by Kendrick Lamar, the opening act. The first thing noticeable was that the microphone was acting like a wheezy newborn baby. Although the microphone was a little hazy, the live band added an incredible touch. Most hip hop artists throw the song on and rap over it, but Kendrick and Kanye went all out.
The stadium itself was part of the experience too. The audience just seemed much calmer with the opening act. Kendrick’s performance was like driving along the Pacific Coast Highway in a nice Cadillac with the sun rising in the background. Kanye’s performance was like driving a Bugatti at midnight, blasting music at decibels that could shatter the eardrums of Dumbo himself.
After Kendrick’s set was done, 12 dancers (who were active throughout the entire show) came out literally dressed as white nuns, as if they accidentally bleached their robes at the local laundry. “On Sight” off of Kanye’s latest album, “Yeezus,” came on, and the whole crowd got wild. Yeezus Christ, the man in the flesh was screaming the wildest lyrics possible. The first songs were mainly off of “Yeezus” that he smoothly used to transition into other songs from his past albums.
A highlight was when the stage, which is a mountain by the way, literally split apart and this huge light shot out of it. Both “Flashing Lights” and “All of the Lights,” two of Kanye’s biggest hits, played as this happened. The only complaint is that he played 29 songs straight, so you might get hungry if you don’t eat, don’t expect an interlude.
The absolute greatest part of the concert was when he played a fan favorite song, “Runaway.” The man literally spent six minutes ranting during the instrumental. He was screaming, at the top of his lungs about how people love when he expresses his emotions, when he talks his “preposterous” and “outrageous” remarks. Every time he asked the audience if they loved when he talks his stuff, the crowd roared. Then a realization came. The people do love it when he talks. When Kanye talks, it gets others talking, he can say one sentence, and a sea of people will hate it, another sea will call him a genius, and he knows it. He knows he’s a jerk and that he’s self-absorbed. He even knows he’s a little delusional, but in these 14 minutes of ranting and singing, the audience learned that he just doesn’t care. That his flaws are his triumphs. He literally manipulates his own emotions into making timeless music. Just look at the reviews, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Metacritic, the numbers don’t lie.
