side note: this is my first review EVER, but the first of many so here it goes wish me luck and leave a comment be it good or bad *deep breath*
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As you walked in into the HP Pavilion in San Jose California where 17,456 people can fit, you see that the event is sold out and just about every other person is sitting in their seat with a pair of “shudder shades” waiting for the concert to start. With the nights artists including Lupe Fiasco, N.E.R.D., Rihanna, and none other then Kanye West a line up that sets up high expectations. The lights dim people start to scream and shout and the first act of the night steps out on stage….
Red and blue light start to flash and Lupe Fiasco rapper from Chicago, Illinois comes out on stage and opens with the song Superstar, his single off his 2007 album The Cool. With high amounts of energy and jumping all over the stage the crowd sings and dances along. Lupe stays on for about another 25 minutes and finishes with a song Hip-Hop Save My Life that he dedicated to his mother.
Next was N.E.R.D. a personal favorite of mine and it by far was everything I expected from 3 guys from Virgina Beach, Virgina. The lights start to dim and a huge white flash goes on stage and you hear it….that funk rock guitar and bass line and you hear Pharrell Williams singing “dirty talk” and it starts; N.E.R.D. opens with there single Lapdance from there 2001 debut album In Search of… Song after the song all 17,456 fans including me sang and danced to each song. They performed a new song off there new album coming in 2008 called Everybody Noses, the song was a hit and the people agreed trying to already sing along with a song that they had only heard for 15 seconds “all the girls in the line for the bathroom”is what they kept screaming. The guys in N.E.R.D. looked happier than ever to be on stage dancing around from each end of the stage embracing the audience to clap their hands and dance. It had been since 2004 since anyone had heard them perform or come out with a single. The guys ended with there hit single from their 2003 album Fly or Die She Wants to Move telling all the “sexy women” that there sexy and that they wanna see all of them move and so they did. it was a very fun and entertaining 30 minutes, I kind of forgot for a second I was also there to see Kanye West.
The third act of the night was R&B princess Rhianna, who came on stage in a flattering hot pink and black body suit. With 2 back up danced she opened up with her 2006 single SOS. She blew my away! Not only was she flawless, but her voice live is absolutely breath taking, clear and beautiful. I would even go as far to say she sounds better live than she sounds on her albums. And of course she used a neon green umbrella during her song Umbrella. She had a very energetic and well choreographed dance though out her set. Rihanna was also a treat to see and to know her voice belongs to her and not some alternating machine make me respect her even more.
Last but not least was the man of the night, the man who was headlining tour Kanye West. A black curtain fell and it took about 20 minutes to set up the stage for his performance, but finally the curtain fell. There were mountains and what looked like a control panel of some sort from a futuristic spaceship and you hear Kanye West and a computer talking and coming for a crash landing on to planet Earth. The whole theme was really exciting and fun with tons of different color of flashing light all over the stage. The people fans were going crazy waiting to see what would be the first song to be sung, and the next thing you hear Kanye say is “Like we always do this time I go for mine I gots to shine”. That was the start of a 2 and a half, yes 2 and a half hour set. Kanye performed just about every song you would want to hear him perform. From his hit single with Stronger, to his very first single Though the Wire, the show was just blissful. He had so much energy and presence for song after song he just kept going. It felt that not one person was sitting down and not singing along. The theme of the whole concert was that Kanye was stuck on planet Earth and just wanted to go home. The props on stage were very well designed everything from big white bulbs for the song Flashing Lights to the hallow gram of a space woman for the song Golddigger, the set was very well organized and well designed. By the end of the show Kanye used he “star power” to get him home, a tad on the conceded side, but hey if anyone knows about Kanye West it’s that HE knows he is a super star. And after that show I understand and give the man a little more credit for thinking so highly of himself. The man is an amazing songwriter, producer, artist, and performer. He know what is good, and though his personality can be a little overboard at times, he in a way has every right to be. Not everyone can be on stage for 2 and a half hours straight and perform song after song so you got to at least respect him that much. By the end of the set i was tried and my voice had gone out, and there was not one disappointment I had, only I wish I could see it again.
Overall the Glow in the Dark Tour was very well thought out and designed, with an all star hip-hop line up it seem hard for the show to not be as good as it was. All 4 of the performers had tons of energy and looked just as excited as the 17,000 fans there that night.
