Glow in the Dark Tour-- Tweeter Center, 5.18.08

flashing (flashing) lights (lights), repeat

By Marty Caballero

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The Glow in the Dark Tour (Kanye West, Rihanna, N.E.R.D., Lupe Fiasco)

Tweeter Center, Mansfield, MA

Thursday, May 15, 2008

If his music can be considered an extension of his ego, then Kanye West’s is enormous. If the Glow in the Dark tour is an extension of his ego, then West’s performance at the Tweeter Center last Thursday is a bombastic, self-indulgent tribute to the rapper’s creative philosophy, in which he can fly through space, dance like Chris Brown and personally save the universe from its own stagnant ingenuity. It’s also mesmerizing, rousing and unlike anything seen in a modern hip-hop show. West believes in himself so much that he even had his short coffee table book of hipster proverbs (“Believe in your FLYNESS...conquer your SHYNESS” is one entry in the lovingly titled “Thank You and Your Welcome!”) distributed at the exits when the show concluded. The show provided no escape from its dominant presence; We, the people, come to the Temple of Ye to bask in the neon-lit glory of its creator. And what a good creator he is.

For as long as your going to indulge in blue flame throwers and sing along with 18,000 plus fans, from high schoolers to working adults, you might as well make it worthwhile, which is exactly what Mr. West did on Thursday. After perfunctory but pleasant performances by Lupe Fiasco, N.E.R.D. and Rihanna, West took the stage against the sandy backdrop of a deserted planet. The prologue, displayed on a giant screen behind the stage, informs us that Captain West’s ship has crash landed on an unknown planet during its “mission for creativity”--we learn this from Jane, a female version of the robotic HAL voice from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The rest of his set roughly follows this outline until Ye is able to triumphantly ride off into a supernova to the tune of his smash hit “Stronger.” 

Right from the jump, everything about West’s performance is EPIC. That’s right, EPIC; lower case simply doesn’t do it justice. That can backfire sometimes, as it does on “I Wonder,” which builds up like an exhaustive finale until you realize its only the first song into his 90 minute set. But for the most part, its exactly what the show needs--the show is all about Kanye, and if his energy drops then the crowd follows suit. Luckily, tracks from his most recent album are perfectly suited for this kind of thing. “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” West’s mantra set to music, exploded from the speakers like the digital fireworks display being projected behind him. Similarly, the steady thunder-clap pulse of “Flashing Lights” coincided with West rising up on an elevated stage while neon lights blinked around him and about a thousand smoke machines puffed away. Everything was appropriately EPIC.

That’s not to say West doesn’t have any more thoughtful or slower songs in his catalogue, but that’s not what this tour is about. A show like this is about blue flames shooting out from either side of Ye while he’s ripping his verse from “Get Em High” or zoned out dancing to “Gold Digger.” For someone so concerned with presenting his vision properly to the public (remember he did FOUR videos for “Jesus Walks”), West does an excellent job in creating a cohesive EPIC performance. Even as this listener’s exhaustion began to set in during the final stretch, the whole goddamn EPICness of “Good Life,” “Jesus Walks” and the finale “Touch the Sky” refuse to let you stop moving. More than infectious, West’s energy is undeniable and overshadowing of every note of every song. It’s loud, brash, EPIC and self-absorbed, but with Kanye, who would want it any other way?