Wow. Three letters on the lips of almost everyone within shouting distance of the Music Bowl tonight, are w-o-w. That's because for the thousands of fans who earlier walked through a cool summer evening have just bore witness to arguably one of the 21st century's greatest performers, and possibly the best show this town has seen since the equally outrageous Daft Punk blew Melbourne away on this very stage years ago.
Rising high atop a crane, in the middle of a sea of people, Kanye West opens – albeit half an hour late – with Higher. While his fans veritably lose their shit at this spectacle, he quickly makes his way through the phone-waving throng to the main stage, busting straight into Power and then following it up with the classic Jesus Walks. West is on song tonight, his drive, charisma and energy enough to make even the most ardent of critics enjoy the show.
Broken into a three-Act Greek tragedy, tonight is so much more than a concert; this is a spectacle to behold, one barely possible to replicate without the creative intuition and genius that West has. Can't Tell Me Nothing, Hell Of A Life and Good Life quickly follow, and the only slight on the opening Act is Monster, which lacks the Rick Ross, Jay-Z and Nicki Minaj verses.
The second Act starts out subtly, with West offering Love Lockdown as a haunting soundtrack to some jaw-dropping contemporary dance routines. The crowd is stunned as lithe, costumed girls wriggle, jump, pirouette and twirl across the stage, seemingly weightless. West drops a couple more songs from 808s & Heartbreak, before lifting things up a notch with Homecoming and American Boy, before Gold Digger raises the Music Bowl to new heights.
With the climax seemingly around the corner, West re-appears for Act 3 in black leather jacket and baseball cap, and to a wicked backdrop of red & white strobe lights, throws down Stronger and set highlight All Of The Lights, during which he stops twice mid-song to start again, pleading with his audience to belt out the line “our nigga dead” in ode to Michael Jackson – showmanship at its best despite the initial awkwardness of 10,000 white boys & girls screaming the “n” word.
A white sheet blocks all view of the stage and Chariots of Fire is hammered out for a few minutes, before West re-emerges, red jacket, jeans & shoes atop a raised podium for an epic rendition of Runaway. He has a tendency to improvise/waffle a bit during some of his songs, but the heartfelt nature of his words shows his genuine emotions.
Hey Mama caps off an epic set nearly two and-a-half hours after he started, and even though the omission of Diamonds from Sierra Leone is somewhat blinding, Kanye West leaves nothing on stage.Those three letters again; w-o-w.
