Ummmm, what did I just watch? This was my reaction as I walked out of the Kanye West Verizon Center show. It was surreal, one of the strangest concerts I have ever been to – yet utterly engaging the entire time.
Grading the show is tricky. A lot of it was unpleasant, yet it was almost always gripping. How do you balance Kanye’s ambition and self-absorption? It turns out you balance it with a B+. It was not an A, it did not succeed on all levels, but it threw in everything it possibly could to get there. B+ keeps it honest and rewards the risk-tasking.
Writing about the show for a mass audience is trickier than grading it. How do you include details from a song that rhymes Judge Joe Brown with.....well, there’s the problem. It turns out you do it with dashes. Lots and lots of dashes. ;)
Flicking through the live blog below will not give you the full experience of being at a Kanye West show. Only Jimy Shah can know that. If anything I’ve typed seems strange, though, I’ll have done my job. If he seems to veer from careful plans to stream-of-consciousness rants, you’ve gotten the idea…
> First thought: Whoa. This is the polar opposite of where I was for Monday’s Macklemore show. It’s like listening to an autotuned fire ant.
> The voiceover word-checks “truculent” and “bellicose.” That’s a good sign. He must know an English teacher’s in the building.
> All these discordant alarms in “Send It Up” somehow work live. They add to the train wreck. Hard to tell why someone would want to listen to it on an album though. Must be the Skrillex effect. I.E. Some people’s confusing attraction to electrocution.
> Apparently he is a god. And you should get on with his ---- massage. And his ---- croissant. And get his car out of the ---- garage. HA: “I just talked to Jesus, he said what up, Yeezus?”
> This crowd is so into everything; they may be the best upper deck crowd I’ve ever been in. Wish it wasn't wasted on this.
> Lol, the guy a row in front of me shouting “yes” like nine times for "Lost in the World." A single plink of the piano, and the guy is at it again. HA: Kanye waits like 30 seconds, plinks one more time, waits again. Yes Guy: “Kanye is such an -------." Yet he means it as a positive… One genuine positive: the Bon Iver section of the song.
> “There are leaders and there are followers; I'd rather be a ---- than a ---------.” Lol, this young girl in front of me is all about it, finger wagging word for misogynistic word. I feel like wagging a finger at her parents…
> How can I find it depressing? I never feel that way about Muse, Alkaline Trio, or Rise Against, who have much darker content. What's the difference? Hmm, they have melodies, instruments, and talk with the audience. They seem like punk rebels, not brooding jerks.
> Intro the “Black Skinhead”: “DC, can you hear me tonight?” Whoa, we do exist. He acknowledged other people; that must make him feel dirty.
> “Power”: Yay, a song I mostly like. “Runaway” is also hilarious: full-arena ‘toast’ and all.
> What is this song? The lights are on, the lyrics are good, and the crowd is singing more. This must be from an earlier album. [Yep, “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” off Graduation.] He incorporates some of "Gorgeous" as well. “Choke a South Park writer with a fish stick”: lol, nice.
> Intro to “Coldest Winter”: some actual humanity comes through! “When I was in London, my mother died. I felt like I was losing my religion, losing myself.”
> “I’m In It.” Features his best line in months: “Pop a wheelie on the zeitgeist.” HA.
> “Heartless”!! By far the best of the night. Coincidence: an actual melody!
> Gah, can’t take any more chirping from “Blood on the Leaves.” At least there's fire and a darkly gripping blare. Now it's a swirling volcano.
> HOLY!! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! That was twenty minutes of unhinged narcissism. Honestly, though, that may have been the most memorable moment of all of the fall concerts. Here’s the transcript: “I think for the first time in my ------------- life, I'm gonna be politically correct. A lot of people stop talking when they get money. Not me. I'm not narcissistic; I'm doing it for creativity; I'm doing it all for you. [Wait: what?] Nike wouldn’t take a meeting for me for EIGHT MONTHS. Yee, you see, IS US. Don't you see?? [I see what you’re saying and reject it.] You going to tell me I can't be a black Steve Jobs?? [Who on earth is telling you that?]
> Comes out of the rant with a solid song (“Stronger”) and his all time best (“Jesus Walks”). Awesome to see actual music shine through!
> “All of the Lights.” Fireworks, red demon flares, him screaming “ghetto university”: powerful.
> Whoa, he wasn’t done. BLOODCURDLING RANT # 2: “They just wanna make jokes on South Park and ----. They think it’s a joke. Like I said on Jimmy Kimmel, I live this ----. I don’t give a ---- about no press; it's keeping me up at night. All I care about is God and my family. Cuz when I go, I know I'm gonna see all of the lights and my momma again. I'm gonna give ya about 35 more seconds. Nike don't want your ideas; they just want you to be the face of the company. These ------ be playing me; they never got some good ----- in their life. Forget Nike; I am Disney! When I walk down the street, the street is happy!!! I may not be liked, but I will be respected, I will not be neglected, and all those ------ that passed on me, they will be AFFECTED.”
> Gotta admit: absurd as it was, I was affected by it. The next song, “Good Life,” is normally mediocre, nowhere near as good as the Weezer song whose title inspired this blog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjLt0LS1M0I. After hearing the rant, though, I was so amped up that I got into it.
> He gives a single shoutout to the keyboardist, lies that “y'all are the reason I talk so much ----,” and then…it just ends. With cacophonous chords half-playing on the way out...
> Tweet at the end of the night: Whatttt did I just watch? Incredibly unlikable person, incredibly memorable show. # kanyewest
Grade: B+
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