After months of anticipation and sweating out ticket details, The Glow In The Dark Tour will kickoff in Seattle. Right now, that city needs a "pick-me-up" after losing their NBA franchise and it's young superstar. Now, it would be foolish to think a one night event could replace the pain of losing a sports team forever. Think about it. Basketball fans in Seattle have endured year after year of losing seasons that were thin on entertainment and even fundamentals. I know I'm taking this too far, but the team wasted 1st round picks on guys named Mouhamed Sene, Johan Petro, Robert Swift, and Luke Ridnour. Ridnour was the only player I could think of and I couldn't even remember his name. All I could come up with was, "that one guy from Kansas." Now the team finally drafted a player they can build their franchise around and their departing from the city without any explanation. It's like a guy who just had sex with some girl he met at the club and is leaving in the middle of the night.
I promise this all has a point. The people of Seattle have endured way too much, yet none of it will matter tonight. Tonight will be historic. It marks the beginning of a tour that will be remembered by music fans for a long time. Notice I said music fans, not just hip-hop fans. It doesn't matter what genre you are into, the show that is going down tonight transcends all musical preferences.
I am willing to say that before even seeing it because I know Kanye and I know he won't do a typical show. Mr. West has been called a lot of things: eccentric, cocky, even gay. But the only title that properly suits him is "showman." He always wants to upstage other music ans and make sure they know they are inferior to him. So yeah, he is going to go off at award shows and, yes, he is going to say that he'd be a main character in the Bible if it were written today. That's Kanye doing what he does best: dominate.
The show is going to raise the bar for concerts. Kanye has instituted a supporting cast that each could headline their own, smaller shows. If you haven't been on his blog, I suggest you head over there immediately as he has been posting some previews which, quite frankly, have left me salivating. At first I figured the concert would be an extended version of his Grammy performance, but I now realize it's so much more than that. We're talking about holograms, theatrical stages, and even props built at Jim Henson's creature shop.
I have said before that Kanye is only the 2nd biggest artist of this decade (behind Justin Timberlake), but I can't help but see the comparisons to Michael Jackson. Kanye isn't nearly as soft-spoken or, coincidentally, creepy as Jacko, but he does get people excited about his work in the same way as the King of Pop. This tour has the same kind of excitement surrounding it as the release of Thriller had. Twenty years for now, VH1 will run a special entitled I Love The 00's (pronounced double O's) and the 2008 version will have semi-funny, not so important people discussing the Glow In The Dark Tour. One of my secret goals is to be one of those commentators and you better believe I'd have plenty to say about Glow In The Dark.
So, people of Seattle, soak it all up. I plan to do the same on May 6th and you better believe I will be dedicating plenty of posts to it. Kanye is king. Oh, and I also can't wait to see Lupe and N.E.R.D.
If anybody goes to the concert, post something in the comment section about what it was like.
2 comments:
Ay man, just landed on your post somehow, and knew that i HAD to leave you a comment about the concert.
I was there last night, and believe it or not, the crowd started chanting "Save Our Sonics!" there at the concert in Key Arena. That was the last place I thought I'd hear that chant- at a Kanye West concert. Of course, it wasn't when Kanye was on stage, but during the downtime they had between acts.
Other than that, the concert was amazing. I can hook you up with pics once I upload them.
-Ray
that's awesome. i wouldn't expect that at a kanye concert either. i would really like to see the pics whenever you can get them.
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