simply glowing

So, my first concert review since starting this little music blog...

Concerts are an interesting entity. it's so easy for a performance to be terrible. Yet it's also quite easy to see something that's just mediocre or OK. The special performances are hard to come by and are truly inspiring to me. Music is such a powerful form of communication, it's amazing to see what can happen when thousands of people are unified in one space by it.

The Glow in the Dark tour was heavily hyped and with good reason. From the opening acts to every song 'Ye performed, the show was done with class [aside from bits and pieces of 'Ye's speech at the end I guess]. The show opened with Lupe Fiasco, another of the strong lyricists to come out of Chicago and one who definitel falls in line with the conscious rap of the region. Unfortunately, due to a late arrival, I only got to see Lupe performed the latter half of "Superstar" [with Matthew Santos on stage as well] and his finale of "Daydreamin'." Yet I could tell from the brief bit of music I got a taste of that Lupe was a clean performer. I really wish I could have seen more and thus have more to say. But he definitely connected with the crowd and did his music proud from what I could tell.

I am definitely not the biggest N.E.R.D. fan around but the enthusiasm they brought to their performance was inspiring. As they performed song after song of their set it was clear how much they enjoyed being on stage and performing and I thought to myself how lucky they are that what they were doing was work for them. I was definitely jealous. They energy and joy they brought to their performance only enhanced the experience.

Rihanna's performance was a definite surprise. Based on seeing her perform at awards shows and the like on TV I really wasn't expecting much. Yet she displayed strong vocals and a polished, clean sound. She also was strong as a performed and entertainer. Unlike anyone else on the nite's billing, her set definitely featured a chance to sit back and enjoy the slowed down tempo of some her music [tho I simply serenaded my friend Sam inappropriately]. It was a well-rounded performance and it was clear she's definitely worthy of headlining her own tour.

kanYe's stage took quite some time to get together but was more than worth the wait. opening with a hint of "Stronger" only to go into "Good Morning" the entire venue erupted as his performance began. I knew how strong of a performer 'Ye was having seen him before, but this show was much more. From the sets, to the storyline, to the songs and how they were performed the entire show was an experience.

Visually, his performance was simply rousing. The design of the stage and the fact that it was so adaptable and moldable based on lighting and other effects was amazing: one could easily get the sense they were on some other planet, on some other world. As the story of the nite took it's various turns, one could see what was happening and feel as tho he or she was really there too.

One of the strong points of kanYe's performance was how he didn't simply perform each song in it's recorded state. Each song had it's variations, helped greatly by his use of a live band [hidden beneath his stage]. The new sounds and variations added a tremendous flavor to each song and helped each song fit in along with both the storyline as well as the other songs. At first I found myself a little discombobulated and thought it wasn't a positive, but I quickly came to see how nice it was to not just hear the studio recording being performed without any creation or variation.

While many commented on the egotism [of both kanYe in general as well as his tour in particular] I found the fact that no one was on stage with 'Ye for the entirety of his performance [aside from his spaceship Jane] to be quite interesting. Yes, the story and fact that no one else appeared definitely indicated kanYe felt very into himself [he is, according to the storyline the brightest star in all the universe], yet I cannot think of any other individual who could captivate an audience of such size in the manner he did for the amount of time he did and to the extent he did on one's own without any help at all.

At the end of the show, kanYe diverted into a somewhat protracted speech, of course going into the media and how he feels they portray him. While I found myself agreeing with much of what he said, I know others did not [as we discussed a bit in the car ride home]. But one thing he mentioned during this speech that I'm sure many didn't pick up on was when he spoke about how the media says he has an ego. He admitted as much as true, but then questioned what his ego had to do with what we did on that nite. At the end of the day, whatever any may say about his ego and how self-centered it was of him to be the only one on stage during his set, the nite was an experience and something everyone present made together with him. The crowd sang the hook on "Good Life" so many times during the 10 minutes or so he performed it. We all cheered as he performed the rendition of "Hey Mama" dedicated to his mother, followed by his only break of the evening as he just stopped during "Don't Stop Believing." Things could be said about most every song he performed like this on the nite and that is what sets him apart from every other performed out there.

kanYe sets himself apart with the passion, emotion, and power he displays in each performance. It was relentless all nite...as he got the crowd excited and then built off that energy and used it to propel himself thru the nite. The musical ability and knowledge he possesses only add to his ability to perform an amazing show.

The nite was more than worth the cost of admission. It was an experience that many other concerts was not and I'm sure will not be, which is unfortunate. A quick rundown of a few personal highlights...

• the opportunity to at least take in a little bit of Lupe Fiasco's performance
• N.E.R.D.'s enthusiasm and the fun they seemed to be having
• Rihanna being really hot, even really far away
• the sensation i was overcome with during "Champion"
  
• the performance of "Hey Mama" followed by "Don't Stop Believing"
• the encore of "Homecoming" and "Touch the Sky" to close it all out