Probably THE most justified $110 I have EVER spent in life.
We (me, Jordan, JJ, Hissy, KL and Ashley) got to GM Place at about 6:20ish and there was lines and lines and lines -- oh boy. FORTUNATELY, our Gate was pretty calm so we got in with ease. We sat in our seats in section 118 row 23 seats 101-104 and waited (not for long until we "switched them" for some premo seats down front haha -- more on that later).
As the crowd started pouring in still, the lights suddenly started to dim at around 7:00ish on schedule. It started with Lupe Fiasco as the opener while the arena was still only half full. He didn't care though...he was warming up his vocals with his live rendition of "The Coolest" and by the second or third song in he had the crowd by the throat singing his chorus on "Go Go Gadget Flow"...
Lupe's Songlist (in order -- if I could remember):
- The Coolest
- Hello/Goodbye
- Go Go Gadget Flow
- Little Weapon
- Hip Hop Saved My Life (Nikki Jean came on stage)
- Paris, Tokyo
- Kick, Push
- I Gotcha
- Streets On Fire (Matthew Santos came on stage)
- Fighters
- Superstar
- Daydreamin
I was disappointed he didn't do "Hurt Me Soul" --- that song really does it for the crowd. But regardless, the kids really love Lupe...they really do. Everything he did was with style and grace although his set wasn't spectacular or anything, just simple and standard. Everyone and their momma seems to be a Lupe fan (whether from the get-go, or from the "Superstar" single) and it leaves great reason to believe that if he ever decides on starting and headlining an arena tour similar to this one, he'd surely not have a problem selling as evident from the crowds reaction...
"LU-PE! LU-PE! LU-PE!"
THEN came the "legendary" (as Kanye described) N.E.R.D. and holy smokes! Pharrell, Shay (who JJ thought was a fatter Usher haha), Chad Hugo, the hypemen, drummers, etc all came with A LOT of energy. I could feel the crowd not really getting into it in the beginning-- probably due to a lot of people not knowing their songs --- but hot damn!
N.E.R.D.'s songlist:
- Anti-Matter
- unknown song?
- Brain
- Spaz
- Everyone Nose
- She Wants to Move
- Rock Star
- Lapdance
- drum solo!
- random '7 Nation Army' rendition lol...
My favorite performed song was "Spaz" as it got the whole crowd goin nuts. The whole segment was actually pretty dope and probably caught the crowd by surprise -- the energy was unreal and these guys really know how to rock out! Pharrell showed Vancouver a LOT of love by staying behind and acknowledging the crowd.
There was a part where some ladies came out on stage for "Everyone Nose" (--- there was this REALLY hot one in the yellow lol). Anyways something hilarious happened. One decided to be an attention whore (well she stepped it up compared to her comrades lol) and was all over Pharrell. WELL in the middle of the song she somehow FELL OFF THE FREAKIN STAGE! hahahaha!
Pharrell:
"oooh shit...oooh shit!..."
Next was the beautiful and talented Rihanna. I don't really know her catalogue of music but I'll try my best to remember what she did..
Rihanna songlist:
- i have no idea
- Push Up On Me
- Pon De Replay
- cover of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes"
- cover of Lauren Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)"
- S.O.S.
- Unfaithful
- Take a Bow
- Don't Stop The Music
- Umbrella
Now...the main event! Now people had to realize how intricate, complicated, technical, etc etc Kanye's set was which totally justified the 40 minute wait. But before I get into that, let me explain our "premo" seats...
Bascially, in the middle of Lupe's set (I think during "Hello/Goodbye") we noticed so many seats empty upfront that we thought and realized "hey, what a waste of seats...let's go jump a couple rows and put them to good use"...
Well, a couple rows turned out to be about a dozen!
(if it wasn't for the hosts/security guards we would have ransacked onto the floor area! LOL)
So basically our seats and view went from this....
To THIS....
...it was like exchanging gold for platinum haha. We actually ended up staying in these seats as the people with these tickets (probably low life scummy scalpers) never showed up!
Now onto the main event...the lights suddenly went dark as everyone started to scream "KAN-YE! KAN-YE KAN-YE!"
It started with a dramatic introduction of a spaceship losing control and crash landing onto an unknown planet. With the effects and graphics on the video display on the large plasma screen in the middle of the set, the visuals were really easy to follow. Mr. Kanye West then appeared on stage laying on his back on a well designed stage of what looks like hills of grass, while going into his introductory song "Good Morning"...
Kanye West songlist:
- Good Morning
- I Wonder
- Heard Em Say
- Through the Wire
- Champion
- Get Em High
- Diamonds From Sierra Leone
- Can't Tell Me Nothing
- Flashing Lights
- Spaceship
- Drunk and Hot Girls
- All Falls Down
- Gold Digger
- Good Life
- Jesus Walks
- Hey Mama
- "Don't Stop Believing" interlude
- Stronger
- Homecoming
- Touch the Sky (with Lupe Fiasco)
The diamonds in the air, the crowd following the lyrics, the emotional "Hey Mama" performance was all spectacular --- I especially loved his extended performance of "Good Life" as it got the whole arena involved with the easy-to-follow chorus and hook. The script in the plot was a bit cheesy at times however...
The Plot in a nutshell: Kanye was on a spaceship, it crashed on an unknown planet, he tries to fix the ship but the ship does not comply, he then gets really horny, the spaceship tries to help but the spaceship fails again, he gets emo, he gets celebratory, some aliens come and tell Kanye he is the biggest star in the universe because he glows in the dark, thus becoming harder better faster and inevitably stronger, to which the ship gets fixed, returns home on Earth in Chicago, to which he proceeds to "Touch The Sky" with Lupe...
Not to belittle the plot, it was actually great. We all witnessed a theatrical play and a concert all in one show. Kanye West loves his art and it really showed. The songs...the content...the effects...it all worked. It was like Kanye had this planned from the beginning (wouldn't be surprised actually).
One thing I realized is how many hits this guy has is amazing. It truely is...hit after hit the crowd loved it. And his trademark rant at the end was a great touch and classic "Kanye" if you will --- the profanity was a bit harsh however (I looked around and saw some awkward faces on young kids with their parents haha).
How Mr. West could memorize everything (although it is his job to) day in and day out, for how many days on the road is really a spectacular thing. And he made it clear --- it is his passion and his love to do this. And he truely did display it through this spectacle of an event. I'd like to thank Kanye West for creating and producing the greatest concert I will probably see in a lifetime. I was never bored in the 5 hours the show took.
Please post a reply if you went as well! I wanna hear opinions and what your favorite parts were and stuff!
Well this is about the biggest post I ever made and I don't think I can interest anyone (if you made it this far) any longer. Let me just end with, it was unbelievable. Worth every penny. Super dope, fantastic shiet. Done.
Peace!
