The Morning (Night) After

So, the concert was sick.


It opened up with Lupe Fiasco, who actually had a decent-sized audience for an opener. His album, The Cool, had just gone gold the day of the concert, which is perfect. (Pick it up; it's really, really good.) His performance was fantastic -- the flow and delivery were nasty, the words were clear and precise, his energy was nuts, and his set wasn't at all enhanced by any extraordinary lighting or stage props, but still GREAT. He mostly did songs from the new album, but also threw in some old stuff like, "Kick, Push." The audience showed him a lot of love, which I felt good about. He deserved it.




Next came Pharrell with N.E.R.D. The lights during this set were ridiculous. Just ridiculous. At some points it felt more like a rock concert than a rap one, with people tossing their heads back and forth, throwing up that Star Trek sign, and N.E.R.D. going nuts onstage. Lupe came out at one point to jump around with them. It felt like there should have been a mosh pit and the lights definitely reflected that frenetic/chaotic/sporadic feel, and it was awesome to be a part of. You couldn't help wanting to freak out with them.


Then Rihanna hit the stage, and the set was weak. She started singing other people's songs, including Beenie Man's "Girl Dem Sugah (Sim Simma)" and, in perhaps the night's worst moment, Lauryn Hill's "That Thing." Was she serious? But then Chris Brown made a guest appearance during "Umbrella" and I was appeased. Her set definitely brought down my high from an otherwise DOPE opening. A lot of people seemed to be enjoying her, though, so this is totally just my opinion. And her body was looking freakin' right in the black leather pants she changed into after this random goth ball gown.


Last, of course, came Kayne. Watching this dude perform is like watching a movie, or a Broadway play. The stage design kept changing, the lighting was intricate and fluid, and he weaved every song from "Graduation" into this plot about getting lost in space and finding his way back home. There was a talking spaceship, an ego-boosting alien ("We need the biggest star in the universe to save the ship...We need you, Kanye."), hologram video hoes and more. Kanye is a dramatist. I definitely felt bad for him at some points, laughed at his crazy dancing, felt inspired by his energy, and found myself screaming every lyric I knew, totally caught up in the whole thing. It was a show in the true sense of the word -- a true spectacle -- not a rap concert. It was really, truly something to see.


As a side note, the seats were great, and sitting a few feet to my left were Anthony Anderson, Jay-Z, Beyonce, John Legend, Quest Love, Angie Martinez, P. Diddy, and some other 'celebs.' It was kinda cool to see artists supporting another artist.


You can see more pics & some video clips here. And here's the Times review of the show, if you're interested. Tell me what you think. Enjoy!