Whether you attended his concert Friday night or not, the general consensus is that Kanye absolutely killed his performance. Besides the fact that Gold Digger didn’t make an appearance on his set list, the songs he chose to sing incorporated the right variety of oldies and new hits. As I was getting ready for the concert, I realized that I wasn’t a Kanye fan in the slightest (and I’m sure a few of you were on the same page as me, too). However, I can confidently say the concert was one of the best overall performances I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending. Yes, I am saying that Kanye West is such an amazing artist that he has the power to make his concerts enjoyable for people who aren’t even fans of him.
In my opinion, the exclusivity of Kanye’s appearance at Penn State was what set the tone for the powerful appreciation and overall “hype” of the concert goers. There were only two college stops on his Saint Pablo tour, and Penn State was one of them. That’s pretty freaking awesome if you ask me. Not only was Penn State one of his only college stops on the North America tour, but Kanye didn’t hold back as far as performance planning went. After seeing the famous “floating stage” at Kanye’s other concerts through various Kim K snapchat stories, I thought there was no way the complicated stage was making an appearance at Penn State.
Boy was I surprised!
Kanye’s stage, that continuously traveled above the entire Bryce Jordan Center floor area, created an elimination of the term “nosebleed seats.” Instead, it made every area of the Bryce Jordan Center feel like the VIP section. Having experienced both the front row and back row of a concert, I consider seat placement to have an extremely important impact on one’s experience. Eliminating the thought of having necessarily “bad seats” was not only a genius move by Kanye, but it was also a very thoughtful consideration regarding his fanbase.
You know a concert was amazing when you find it hard to narrow down specific highlights. One of the most aesthetically pleasing parts of Kanye’s set was when lasers took over the entire arena. Standing in the center, Kanye continued his set list while being the only force blocking the path of the lasers. The second highlight was not necessarily a certain part of the concert, but it was what caught my attention the entire time. The lights from Kanye’s floating stage shined directly underneath wherever the stage traveled, putting a spotlight on the dancing fans on the floor. The clear and constant energy from the floor area and the strong connection with Kanye himself honestly made chills go up my spine on multiple occasions.
Well, Kanye West, I speak for myself and the rest of Penn State when I say thank you for making last Friday night’s concert an unforgettable one.
