To be a truly great pop star, you need to swing back and forth between showing peerless artistry and borderline insanity. As Kanye West rolled into Barclays Center last night for the first of four dates in New York (another at Barclays on Wednesday, before playing Madison Square Garden on Saturday and Sunday) he showed he was both those extremes – and everything in between.
The current Yeezus tour is more than just a concert. It’s an extravaganza of music and theater that gives the world windows into his erratic persona. Each one offers a fascinatingly different and frequently thrilling viewpoint.
There’s Kanye the performer who rocked the crowd tirelessly for long periods and delivered ferocious flows like those of “Yeezus” tracks “Black Skinhead” and “I Am A God” with the kind of venom that simply can’t be phoned in. With muscles rippling, vocals booming and his energy almost boundless, West is without doubt in the best physical form of his life.
There’s also Kanye the artist who, alongside his Donda design company, has fashioned a stage set and concept that’s half biblical allegory and half motivational seminar. Particularly important is the giant mountain backdrop which West frequently climbed, most notably to bark out “P.O.W.E.R.” as a giant disc above his head was lit to represent the moon. The symbolism was a little heavy-handed, but it looked damn cool.
And then there’s also ranting Kanye – or “Ranye” if you will. This is a part of the Chicagoan’s routine that has become so prevalent that it now has its own segment in the set. Sure enough, it came following a floor-shaking version of “Runaway” and lasted almost ten minutes. The targets for his rage included shadowy corporate types who attempt to control him, other celebrities who refuse to speak out for fear of losing their status and of course, himself – or rather, the burden of being a “creative genius” which he claims keeps him up at night. It was hard to follow every nuance of his speech, but at one point, he got so animated that he walked up and down the central stage, flapping his arms around like a demented chicken in a giant coup.
It’s all part of Kanye’s dastardly plan. He wants you to think he’s a rock star, he wants you to think he’s an artist, and more importantly, he wants you to think he’s crazy. It’s a combination which makes him the most fascinating musical figure of our time and makes this tour an unmissable spectacle.
Kanye West sold himself short when he said he was a God. He’s not. He’s a self-made monster called Yeezus. And that’s far more exciting.