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| Kanye West. Photo by Evan Solochek. |
After easing into Summerfest day one, taking in the violently fab fireworks, Hall and Oates, Buddy Guy and Matisyahu, day two appeared with monstrous expectations from none other than Kanye West, one of the biggest names in the business.
It doesn’t take much to get swept up in the hype. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a lesson in mass appeal. From hipsters to the hip-hop devoted, most can at the very least appreciate Kanye on one level (a mastermind hit generator) while loathing him on another (insert any of the myriad controversies here). I choose camp mastermind and call it a day. The music is good, and that’s enough for me.
Before Kanye took the stage, Kid Cudi jumped around for 20 minutes or so in front of a mildly enthused mini crowd before leaving to a soft “Cudi” chant. No encore. Done and done. OK then.
At this point, as the masses converged on the Marcus and proceeded to wait for Kanye, I ducked out for a quick Better than Ezra interview alongside the Mindpool crew (check out the video HERE), and thus missed the stunning beginning of Kanye, in which he appeared (seemingly from thin air!) within the crowd, donning a Bulls cap.
Post Ezra interview, I re-entered the amphitheater and was blown away. I saw Kanye in 2006 at Lollapalooza, and the show was less than extraordinary.
But last night was extraordinary.
Costume changes, biblical backdrops, dancers (one of whom is the sister-in-law of Associate Editor Evan Solochek. Pretty neat, right?), sparklers, fire, smoke, the two-hour set had all the makings of a stellar stadium experience. He played the hits, mixing old with the new, and worked the stage with unwavering enthusiasm.
With a couple soapbox interludes, Kanye thanked the fans for support, doled out advice, bashed the press. You know, the usual. But the crowd ate up what Kanye was serving, waving their arms in unison and singing along with each track, which frankly, Kanye did a lot of as well.
Justin Vernon, where were you? As the first notes to “Lost in the World” hit the air, hopes grew and quickly fell. No dice. Just dancers. We Milwaukeeans weren’t party to any special guests.
But alas, I’ll settle for one hell of a good show. Well done, Mr. West. Well done.
