| Concert Review of Kanye West at Madison Sq. Garden Th. on Wed Nov 02, 2005 |
| Event Date |
| Wed Nov 02, 2005 |
| Source |
| New York Post |
| Concert Review Preview |
| CLEAN RAPPER WEST IN SHOW By DAN AQUILANTE November 4, 2005 -- KANYE WEST THERE'S a long-standing notion that solo rap artists are incapable of commanding a stage for an entire concert — which Kanye West shattered Wednesday night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Rather than the standard hip-hop variety show, the gig (the first of a two-night stand) was a bona fide concert — with live music — and the compass never veered from West. And whether it was because the New York audience was predominantly white, his college-professor mom was in the house or he's just uncomfortable with gangsta talk, words like "n - - - - - ", "motherf - - - er" and "ho" were conspicuously absent. West even attempted to clean up his No.1 hit song, "Gold Digger," with the essential couplet, "I ain't saying she's a gold digger, but she ain't messing with no broke n - - - - - ." But toward the end of the showstopper he realized he was ruining the piece with political correctness and told the crowd, "Just this once you can say 'n - - - - - .' " With his OK, the sold-out house — mom included — sang along, reluctantly. In a way, this show was a benchmark performance for rap. West applied rock-concert aesthetics to the show, from slick technical production to the live music from a seven-piece string ensemble, keyboards, percussion and a DJ scratching. The only rock ritual West ignored was the encore. Instead of wasting time stepping off-stage just to return, he kept his two-tones to the floorboards without break until his 11 p.m. curtain. While the titles of his hit albums — "The College Dropout" from 2004, and this year's "Late Registration" — might indicate West is a slacker, this show was a fast-paced 90 minutes. . |
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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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