Reviewed on Friday September 12
Before he was the subject of millions of memes and countless columns of scurrilous internet gossip, Kanye West made these things called records and performed live shows in support of them. On the back of two fantastic albums, 2010’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and last year’s menacing Yeezus,one would expect Mr. West would give a self-assured performance. Largely obscured by dim lighting and a series of strange facemasks for most of the night, the American hip hop superstar seemed to be lacking one key ingredient – a sense of humour.
While the show began with a number of high-tempo tracks from Yeezus including ‘Black Skinhead’, ‘Bound 2’ and ‘Blood On The Leaves’, which West brought to life with great hooks and his signature rhyming, the rest of the night felt somewhat pedestrian as it zigzagged, ticking off key tracks from previous albums without deviating much from the script. The crowd had clearly come to hear all the anthems and West obliged. Unfortunately, there was little warmth and engagement with the audience.
There were times when Kanye’s unrelenting perfectionism created obstacles. He openly criticised the production crew mid-song and repeatedly instructed those standing to “make a circle” before launching into a bizarre triple rendition of ‘N*ggas In Paris’ to close out the show.
Arguably, West is one of the only genuine rock stars performing today. He remains a rare talent whose lovable self-confident/self-delusional paradox should fit perfectly within this cavernous arena tour. The Sydney faithful were basking in Kanye’s considerable shadow from the get-go – it was equally heartening and puzzling to see the crowd on its feet for the entirety of the performance. Despite having delivered a number of thrilling live shows on previous tours here, maybe West only had himself to blame for pushing the bar so high. A performer who spent so much of the night in the dark might need to lighten up a little.
