A Lot About Nothing

If I learned anything last night, it’s that Kanye West really knows how to put on a damn good show. Kanye West’s Glow In The Dark Tour, featuring Rihanna, N.E.R.D. and Lupe Fiasco took place last night at Moslon Amphitheatre in Toronto, and lucky me got some great seats for the show.

I wish I left work a little earlier though, because it ended up taking my friend and I almost 45 minutes to get from Union Station to the Exhibition grounds. The station was packed with concert patrons and Toronto FC fans who were also lining up for the streetcar to see the soccer game that just happened to be at the same time in the same area. We should’ve took the Bathurst station route instead.

The show was slated to start at 7pm and we got there around 7:40. Unfortunately we missed Lupe Fiasco’s performance (which was the main act that I really wanted to see), but luckily Lupe came out at the end of the show to rap a few verses with Kanye. It was cool seeing them together.

We found our seats in time to see a good chunk of N.E.R.D’s performance. The group had brought a couple of fans onstage from the front row, one of which took their sweet time getting off the stage (I mean… we’re not here to see and 18-year-old “try” to dance to hip hop on stage). Pharrell got the crowd going. “Lapdance” is one of my favourite tracks from N.E.R.D. And surprise surprise, they ended up bringing up a multitude of girls/groupies on stage for “She Wants To Move”.

The next performer was songstress Rihanna. I didn’t realize that she had cut her hair even shorter… it looks good on her though. Rihanna came out in a red, military-style jacket and skin-tight pants (first of a couple costume changes). Her performance was good and she had the crowd ella-ella-aye-ing when she sang her hit “Umbrella”. This girl could go a wicked bogle, let me tell you.

And now to the star of the evening (which his performance stated more than once) Kanye West. The last time I saw him live was a couple of years ago at the ACC. This performance blew that one out of the water. Instead of just going from track to track, with some shout outs to the city’s audience, Kanye’s performance played like some type of apocalyptic sci-fi drama. The stage was set up to perfection… it really looked like a planet’s surface (no wonder they took so long to set up). The giant screen where “Jane”, the ship’s computer, spoke from looked like a suped-up version of the original Star Trek’s technology with all those flashing buttons and streaming starlight (now that I think about it, the set up kind of reminds me of the Synergy computer from Jem and the Holograms… lol). With levitating orbs that had planets and and anime-looking ’shooting star’ character projected on them, smoke and pyrotechnics, the whole set-up looked really good.

One of the things I liked about Kanye’s performance was that he was in character the entire time. From beginning to end it was almost as if you were watching a play of “the biggest star in the universe” (Kanye) crash lands on a remote planet and tries to find his way home. Even the order of which tracks he performed related to the theme of the show: obvious ones like “Touch The Sky”, “All Falls Down” and “Spaceship… and then there were tracks “Wake Up Mr. West” (to start the show when he wakes up from the crash landing), Jesus Walks” (when he was feeling lonley and isolated on the planet), and “Stronger” (when he had to find the power within to find his way back to earth).

Kanye had energy from beginning to end. He ended the show on a positive note with some words for the audience on his personal philosophies, some of which are included “Thank You and You’re Welcome“, his new book co-authored by J. Sakiya Sandifer. Luckily they were giving out some copies after the show… it was a pretty interesting and entertaining read filled with “Kanye-isms”.  I have to give props to the live band that was playing below the stage as well… great job with the music.

And yes… things did glow in the dark during the show!

According to a report by MTV News, the New York-born rapper went ballistic after learning that the audio and video for “Follow My Lead” featuring Robin Thicke (and starring actor Dustin Hoffman) surfaced online last Thursday — weeks before it’s scheduled release.

50 Cent, who’s given name is Curtis Jackson III, reportedly ripped a giant plasma TV off the wall when he heard the news from his G-Unit office. He also threw his cell phone through the window, said he’s going on vacation and is not speaking with any reps at Interscope, who he believes is behind the leak.

I think someone needs to learn how to control their temper. Sure, having your video leaked to the net before you wanted it to may be upsetting, but look on the bright side Fiddy: You now have about a third of your album out there for fans to enjoy before it officially comes out on September 11th!

His first two singles for the upcoming album, “Straight To The Bank” and Amusement Park”, obviously didn’t blow up as well as 50 thought they would, which is the main reason for the multiple delays of the of Curtis album release. Back from the studio, his current single, “I Get Money” is doing well, and so is “Ayo Technology” featuring Justin Timberlake. So, four singles into his new album, plus the leaked collaboration with Robin Thicke… I guess I could probably see why Fiddy flipped out.

On the flip side, contender Kanye West’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and “Stronger” have been positively received and he’s about to drop “Good Life” featuring T-Pain. West’s Graduation is set for release on September 11th as well, and Fiddy is betting his rap career that he’d outsell Kanye on the blocks.

In an interview posted on SOHH.com last Friday, 50 stated:

Put it like this… Let’s raise the stakes. If Kanye West sells more records than 50 Cent on September 11, I’ll no longer write music. I’ll write music and work with my other artists, but I won’t put out any more solo albums.

Do I sense publicity stunt? Let’s hope he’s true to his word. Let the battle begin!