So it turned out that crazy rumor about Kanye West is true. No, not the one about Kim Kardashian, but the even more unbelievable one that the guy has actually been having fun on this tour with Jay-Z. In fact, he was full-on clowning at their HP Pavilion show last night, playing off his why-so-serious reputation with a funny running gag that had him stopping and re-starting “All of the Lights” over and over because he just wasn’t quite getting enough light, or he had to give the white people in the audience permission to sing the word “nigga.” On that last one, he lost his deadpan, trying and failing to hide a smile. It was exactly the kind of human moment that Jay-Z seems to inspire in him.
Of course, 30 seconds later Yeezy was ripping into maybe his most intense performance of the night. It was hard to imagine how “All of the Lights” could be improved live, but he traded the studio polish for raw power, crashing through a crescendo of noise in the chorus that was sheer sonic lightning.
If anything rivaled it, it was his rendition of “Runaway,” the stunning ballad of remorse from last year’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. (Is it any secret that Kanye’s a better singer than he is a rapper?) In a show packed with spectacle—and enough lasers to supply a Star Wars trilogy—the set-up was as simple and elegant as the song itself: West atop an elevated, cube-shaped stage lit solid red.
Jay-Z had his moments, too. From the first time that Kanye stepped away from the stage and Hove launched into “Where I’m From” and “Nigga What, Nigga Who,” his flow was amazing as he spit lines on top of each other, reminding everyone why he’s one of the best rappers of all time for pure delivery. “Empire State of Mind” and “Izzo” were show-stoppers, as well.
Of course, these were all solo numbers, which they traded off throughout the show. Wasn’t the point of this tour to take their collaboration on Watch the Throne to the stage? Yeah, but it just didn’t play out that way. They opened with several songs from the record, starting with “H.A.M,” then “Who Gon Stop Me,” “Otis” and “Welcome to the Jungle.” But when mixed with their solo material, the stuff from Watch the Throne simply couldn’t hold up. There were some odd set choices too—why was “Lift Off” (clearly a party-starting tune) buried near the end of the set? “No Church in the Wild” seemed to come too late, too. On the album, it’s practically their mission statement, but by the time they got around to it at the show, it seemed like filler. “Niggas in Paris” was a predictable choice for the closing minutes, but even that album centerpiece seemed anti-climatic after the mind-blowing performances of better songs.
The pair’s best moment together was definitely “Monster,” from Kanye’s last album. But it was also fun to see them perform on each other’s hits, which they did on “99 Problems” and “Gold Digger,” including a goofy transition between the two that captured what’s best about their chemistry. They respect each other, yeah, but they also like each other, entertain each other, and challenge each other. Even if their best moments were solo, I have a feeling there’s something about being in this together that pushed them to the heights they reached as performers last night.
— Steve Palopoli
.Review: Jay-Z and Kanye West at HP Pavilion
