Kanye West is insanely vain. But if he were half the megalomaniac he makes himself out to be, the self-proclaimed “biggest star in the universe” wouldn’t have invited marquee acts Lupe Fiasco and N.E.R.D. to illuminate his Glow in the Dark tour.
Before the headliner’s prop spaceship landed on the Tweeter Center stage Thursday, ticket holders got more than two hours of assorted Billboard bangers. As West likely planned, the pre-show got blood flowing, but was hardly enough to exhaust devotees.
Lupe Fiasco’s set was fully loaded, with Chicago’s most fashionable Muslim dashing through major hits, including “Kick, Push,” and less-commercial blasts.
N.E.R.D. exploded unannounced. For a half-hour, the new-age rock-hoppers brought raucous spontaneity, something that their tourmates avoided. As the sun ducked behind the amphitheater, N.E.R.D. frontman Pharrell Williams unwound the frenetic new “Spaz,” smacked some cymbals and invited the bustiest groupie he could find to grind on stage.
cw-5 While the first two acts complemented West’s mission, teen hottie Ri-cw0gfgbugMUSIC REVIEWKANYE WEST, with RIHANNA, LUPE FIASCO and N.E.R.D.At the Tweeter Center, Mansfield, Thursday night.cw-5
hanna served no artistic purpose. Dressed for a gothic wedding with Catwoman undergarments, she smiled through “Work It Up Boy,” “Pon de Replay,” “Umbrella” and a rash of other cuts that sounded as manufactured live as they do on the radio.
For his turn, Kanye delivered the most visually magnificent show in hip-hop history, complete with thegalaxy’s grandest LED display and cotton candy-colored pyrotechnics. His theme - that he’s lost in outer space - provided more of a framework for hits than an actual story line. (Think “Mamma Mia” with some stank on it.)
Performing from atop his spaceship, West essentially kicked an extended version of the set he brought to the TD Banknorth Garden last October, but with harder, better, faster, stronger sounds, concepts and aesthetics highlighting his trite lyrics and sample-heavy production on tracks ranging from the obligatory “Jesus Walks” to “Good Life.”
West might not really be the biggest star in the universe, but there is a difference between him and his opening acts, as well as between him and the underground artists whose ideas he borrows and manicures for mainstream rap fans. For some reason, he’s the one who gets to tour America with an infinitely dimensional luminescent backdrop while 20,000 heads worship his every last line.
