It was sooo Kanye.
Kanye West worked and wowed the city of Seattle Wednesday night at KeyArena on the Saint Pablo Tour, performing to a packed house of die-hard devotees.
The night started with an hour and a half of white lights made dim by the thickening fog of the smoke machines, a consistent roll of deep bass hums supported by the roar on conversation through the crowd, and melodic howls sporadically echoing through the arena, similar to those heard in the track “Wolves” on West’s The Life of Pablo.
No opener. No hypeman. No repeated sound effect of a synthetic air horn controlled by a DJ attempting to get the crowd hyped for the headlining act.
This is Kanye West; we’ve been hyped since 2004.
Seconds before the clock hit 9:30 (although the show was set to start at 8), Key went dark and, with the help of the glow from each audience members’ phones, the shadow of a platform began to rise, followed by a collection of screams from the crowd, chanting “Yeezus! Yeezus!,” knowing Mr. West himself was standing right in the center of it as it floated to the other side of the venue.
The platform carried West all around the arena, gliding him over fans, lighting their faces and keeping himself in the shadows, taking on the “god-like persona” he has developed for himself over the years.
West kicked off the next two hours with Life of Pablo tracks “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1,” “Pt. 2,” and “Famous,” cutting in and out, allowing the audience to steal the show.
Along with most of the set coming from the latest album, Kanye pleased the crowd with some of the greatest hits from other albums in his career such as “Heartless” from 808s & Heartbreaks, “Power” off of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and the hard-hitting fan-favorite “Jesus Walks” from his 2004 debut album The College Dropout. To be expected, the crowd responded with both nostalgia and love for the now “classic” cuts.
Of course, it would never be a complete Kanye concert without a few Kanye-rants here and there. One of which focused on the recent fall out between West and former collaborator, Jay-Z.
“Don’t call me after the robbery and say ‘how you feelin’?’” barked West, “You wanna know how I’m feelin’? Come by the house. Bring the kids by the house. Like we brothers, let’s sit down.”
What also made this show “so Kanye” was his performance of “I Love Kanye,” to which he knelt on his platform and watched the entire crowd rap to him about how Kanye he is. No one was even mad. Because, come on: we love Kanye.
At this point, “Kanye” has become a synonym for being incredibly awesome and from above. And that is so Kanye.
As the platform floats to the doors, West ends his show with the latest album’s opening track, “Ultralight Beam,” a song filled with heavy words, heartfelt emotions, and West’s great dreams of God.
As one single beam of light follows West to the end, the crowd takes form of a choir and sings him straight to his exit.
Echoes of praise and gratitude fill the air.
That night, I found Yeezus.
PRISCILLA GAMIT | Everyday is Ye-Day | General Manager