| Concert Review of Kanye West at Madison Sq. Garden Th. on Wed Nov 02, 2005 |
| Event Date |
| Wed Nov 02, 2005 |
| Source |
| New York Daily News |
| Concert Review Preview |
| Kanye dig it? MSG crowd did! Kanye West performs at Theater at Garden. Kanye West showed a full house at The Theater at Madison Square Garden last night why he is not only the most successful, but one of the most innovative hip-hop artists in quite awhile. West's homecoming concert covered everything from the price of gasoline to his mama and his grandmama in the course of a night that most of the crowd spent entirely on its feet. He opened the show by promising, "We can make it better. ... Throw all your cares away," and several fans near the front, as if on cue, immediately fired up joints. But while West doesn't ignore the pleasures of the flesh, he's famously selective with matters like sex and profanity, and he isn't afraid to get downright sentimental. "Roses," his song about visiting his elderly grandmother before she has major surgery, is four-handkerchief stuff by any standard. On stage last night, West heightened the melodrama with a skit set in a hospital room. That didn't diminish his reputation for being theatrical or having a sizable sense of himself, but the crowd loved it. In fact, the crowd loved pretty much everything about his return to New York, about which he said, "It feels good to be home." He had only to turn the microphone to the crowd to get a rousing chorus of pretty much any lines he wanted. When he performed "Gold Digger," which has been the No.1 song in the entire civilized world lately, he got the crowd singing along to the chorus "I ain't sayin' she's a gold digger/But she ain't messin' with no broke n-----" and cracked, "White people, this is your only chance to say 'n-----.'" West ran through his growing catalogue of hits while expanding the music somewhat on songs like "Crack Music" and "Heard 'Em Say." "Heard 'Em Say" accuses the government of spreading AIDS, and West has gotten a good deal of attention for that type of outspoken sociopolitical view. Last night, however, he said nothing nearly as controversial as his remark at a Hurricane Katrina benefit that President Bush doesn't like black people.. |
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| User Comments |
| I left uplifted and inspired! |
| I went to see Kanye West perform at the Garden with my two daughters aged 11 and 15. Man, this guy is a performer. I felt like we got a bargain for our seats and the girls had an amazing time. What is notable is that Kanye performs with two backup singers, one male and one female, that's it. No hype man, no dancers. He is completely connected to the audience every second he occupies the stage His stage design was eye-catching but not distracting and for a rap artist, you can see he put a lot of effort into putting on a SHOW. Not just picking a few spots here and there to rhyme. Surprise guest Jay-Z came out after Kanye tore it down performing "Gold Digger" this was well into an hour of the show and everytime he performed a more popular song, "Through the Wire," or "All Falls Down" it got more crazy, louder, frenzied. After "Gold Digger" Kanye left the stage to the crowd chanting "Kanye! Kanye!" It was darkened and then he walks out with Jay-Z about 3 steps behind; it is impossible to believe it has ever been louder at the Garden for any rap artist. Even Jay-Z said, "Damn, Kanye. I have to come to your shows more often." Jay-Z performed "Encore" from The Black Album which you could hardly hear with the deafening crowd, then Kanye instructed his DJ and the music for "My Name Is Hov" came on and man, it was so loud I thought the ceiling was going to cave in. I'm 35 years old. I have been seeing rap acts since the 80's; from clubs like Union Square, Broadway International, The Latin Quarters, the Rooftop, Red Parrott. I've seen PE, McLyte, BDP, Rakim, LL's first show at the Funhouse; and I will say this: Kanye West is a rap LEGEND. Not many contemporary artists really make you feel like you are witnessing artistic greatness, he achieved that in 2 hours. |
| Another note. Not to be outdone, and not to be done, after the feat with Jay-Z ... Kanye leaves the stage again and what song does he come back with? "Jesus Walks." I'm surprised that theatre didnt get flipped over. quirkee1@msn.com |
| really??? was that wednesday, because i was there and there definitely was no jay-z. |
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