last night, my crew and i checked out the kanye west show downtown. when i first decided to buy these tickets, the roster included kanye, common, fantasia and
here's where i insert my disclaimer: i really paid for the show intending to see common -- kanye was just a bonus and i could really care less about the other two.

i should mention here that common dropped out of the tour before the tour even started. basically, you can't get a refund on your ticket unless a show is cancelled; in this case, however, it still went on...just minus one performer.

yes, it does suck donkeys for me.

the show was suprisingly good though. although me and my friend went to get beers during the opening acts, we made it back just in time for mr. west.

the crowd was a mixture of things - but mostly young kids. kanye did all the songs off his 'late registration' album and a couple from 'college dropout'. there's nothing more really to explain about your average "big lights and effects/stadium" concert, really. it was glorious. the sounds resonated through your chest. then again, maybe those feelings were mistaken for the rumbling in my belly between the double burger, kosher dog and beer i had earlier.

one thing i really liked about the concert was how kanye paid homage to every song he sampled before he actually performed. his live band and background vocalists belted out originals including chaka khan's "through the wire", in addition to a live dj rendition (all cut up and remixed) of curtis mayfield's "move on up". pretty slick, ye.

the highlight for me was when kanye had this little in between song monologue about hip hop. it was touching, really. he said something along the lines like "i don't make pop music. fuck pop music. i make real hip hop and force pop stations to play it. real quality music". thereafter, he called out to his 'real hip hop heads' out in the crowd. he paid homage to his inspirations while asking his dj to play brief samples of old school classics (naughty by nature's "uptown anthem", the pharcyde's "passing me by" and a tribe called quest's "check the rhime"). this is what really turned the concert around for me when all the lights and glitter weren't enough.

no doubt, i have a new perspective on mr. kanye west as an artist. previously, i only liked him for his production and beats. recently, i only became interested after the release of his latest album 'late registration'; but it was his live show that made me a believer.
the man can do a live show; a skeptic has been convinced.
although im gonna stick to the more intimate and small club concert environment from now on, i must give the touch the sky tour mad props. from his thumping beats to his dancing to his demanding of crowd participation, mr. west's is an 8/10.


"I ain't here to argue about his facial features
Or here to convert atheists into believa's
I'm just tryna say the way school need teachers
The way Kath-a-Le needed Regis, that's the way I need Jesus
So here go my single dawg radio needs this
They say you can rap-about-anything except for Jesus
That means guns, sex, lies, video tape
But if I talk about God my record won't get played, Huh?"
- k.west