The next few months are the prime time for music lovers to catch a great show. And if you're looking to see one good concert this year, go see Kanye West's Glow in the Dark Tour. This show was surrounded by a halo of hype from the get-go. It received stellar reviews all around, and when Entertainment Weekly gave the show a B+, it got an earful from Kanye who responded on his blog, "What's a B+ mean? I'm an extremist. It's either pass or fail! A+ or F-!"
On May 6, I trekked down to Miami's American Airlines Arena to see the all-star line up: Kanye West, Rihanna, N.E.R.D. and Lupe Fiasco.
As soon as the concert began, it was already miles above any other concert I've been to.
At 7 p.m. on the dot, just as the ticket promised, the lights went out, and Lupe Fiasco began his set.
The performance was simple but energetic. And even more impressive than the rapper was his backup singer, Matthew Santos. You probably know him as the guy who sings the chorus in the hit "Superstar." His voice perfectly complemented Lupe Fiasco's rapping style in more than half the songs.
Next up was N.E.R.D with its unique blend of rock and hip-hop. It had the crowd on their feet with hits like "Lap Dance" and "Rock Star." What made the performance spectacular was the ridiculous amount of energy.
Fronted by Pharrell Williams, the entire band jumped around and banged their heads. At the end of the set, the band went out with a roar by bringing people from the audience on stage to dance.
Holding her own with all the boys was Rihanna, who performed hits back to back. Her dancers rounded out the performance under a black light with giant glow sticks.
Her performance was a little more elaborate and choreographed with raised platforms for her dancers and moving scaffolds.
She even managed to squeeze in a costume change into her half-hour set.
Finally, the man of the hour took the stage. Kanye West did his entire set solo on stage. There were no dancers, and the band played beneath the stage like an orchestra.
His performance was unlike anything I've ever seen because it had a plot. His songs were used to take the audience on an interplanetary journey.
Kanye spent most of the show performing on a screen, which was tilted forward along with the rest of the stage to resemble a mountainous terrain.
In the story, on his last mission in space, Kanye's ship had failed and crashed. The sun rose above the mountains on a giant wide screen behind him as he began the show with "Good Morning."
His only friend out there was a computer named Jane, whose voice made several appearances throughout the show. With little hope of fixing the spaceship, Jane gave him hope by reminding him this wasn't the first time he'd crashed. Cue "Through the Wire," a song that he recorded after a car accident while his jaw was wired shut.
The entire show went on in a similar fashion with each song's meaning intertwining with the galactic plot. It was perfectly timed and paced with hard-hitting songs like "Gold Digger" and "Get 'Em High" interspersed with more poignant numbers like "Jesus Walks" and "Hey Mama," which had more than a few concertgoers tearing up.
It's hard to imagine that his playlist wasn't influenced by recent events.
Kanye lost his mother last year and recently broke off his engagement to Alexis Phifer.
Since it is Kanye West, a good amount of ego-stroking was expected and delivered.
When he met an alien, a talking mannequin, on his journey and introduced himself, she replied with, "Of course we know who you are; you're the biggest star on the planet."
And despite the pyrotechnics and multi-colored flames rising from the stage, it's hard to deny that Kanye shined brightest.
For his departure, Kanye performed "Stronger" when his spaceship was fixed. With lights flashing around the center screen and smoke emerging from beneath it, the stage rose to send Kanye on his way, but not before an encore of "Homecoming" and "Touch the Sky" with Lupe Fiasco.
Even with all the hype surrounding the tour, this show will leave you wowed. With the big-name lineup and the intricate stage design and performance, the show was a crowd pleaser.
Once you see it, you'll understand why anything less than an A+ would be an understatement.
