Kanye West

[TomWales]

I was towards the left and thought the sound was very very quiet.

 

A lot of the crowd seemed disinterested, which was a shame because I was enjoying it while there were just a load of miserable gits who didn't know half the songs around me. 

[CaledonianGonzo]

This first 45 minutes I've just watched is incredible, incendiary greatness. The most punk rock thing I think I've ever watched at Glastonbury.

Just got to I Wonder and it's the only point so far that the energy has dippd.

[maelzoid]

I don't think he was enjoying himself much- but maybe that's a rap thing

 

Not sure about this.  Young fathers seemed a little serious, but conversely Run The Jewels (whose music is fairly full on) couldn't have been happier to be there. I wasn't massively into their set in terms of the music, but found them so engaging in their enthusiasm for playing that it left me on a high.

[TomWales]

I wouldn't mind watching the BBC coverage to see it again.

 

 

It all felt like it was set up more for the cameras than it was for the crowd tbh.

[ClementsMike]

I wasnt against hime headling at all, there isnt a genre that has any divine right to headline the festival. What the festival deserves though, from a Saturday night Pyramid headliner though is an act to pull and retain a decent crowd and put on a special show that creates an atmosphere.

 

No matter that some fans enjoyed it and had a good time, the atmosphere was flat, there was no continuity in it and there was so much space to move about it was quite amazing. On the basis of what he presented, he should have been on the Other stage, at best. If anything I would suggest he moved the opportunity back for other hip hop acts to headline significantly. Shame on him.

[Winslow Leach]

Ha well I was smashed so it may well have been a load of old bollocks, but I loved it in the moment and that's what it's all about.

I don't think I'll watch it back on iplayer though as I suspect it wont come across well on the telly.

As an aside did anyone see that flag that was a photo of his wife giving a blow job? I found it sickening and by far the most offensive flag I've ever seen. Not cool.

Ah shit, I meant to up its this but accidentally down voted it, sorry Russ!

[frostypaw]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccgzG2SBj1Q

This was linked off an indy story - just bizzare. The rig and way it's done is far more like he's shooting a music video than a headline performance.

But the standout thing is the crowd - good lord that's thin down front!!!

For a comparison a properly dense crowd i remember being in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOxfNxzBGBU

Would be interested in the real crowd stats, but imagine we'll only ever hear what he started with

[Gregcharlie]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccgzG2SBj1Q

This was linked off an indy story - just bizzare. The rig and way it's done is far more like he's shooting a music video than a headline performance.

But the standout thing is the crowd - good lord that's thin down front!!!

For a comparison a properly dense crowd i remember being in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOxfNxzBGBU

Would be interested in the real crowd stats, but imagine we'll only ever hear what he started with

Wish there had been space where I was stood, it was difficult to even jump on the spot it was that rammed.

[elias]

Just read somewhere that Kanye West is an anagram of w*nkey Set.

 

Sorry to those who saw it and loved it, but I just couldn't resist the joke.

I watched a bit on tv last night and it didn't look to be the shambles I was expecting from general reaction on here. Still, it never was going to appeal to me - I just hope those that like his music enjoyed his performance.

[Matt42]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccgzG2SBj1Q

 

This was such a good watch, made me remember how sick it was.

 

Like it or not, disagree or agree. If you were in that crowd you really were watching something unique and special. He is one of the biggest stars in the world right now and to see him headlining Glastonbury was a priceless moment to me. The incredibly audible "All Day N***" being shouted back by the crowd was even louder in person. This was one of the best headline set i've ever seen, I enjoyed it so so much.

[TomWales]

It was definitely a worthy headline slot.

 

I think his biggest problem was keeping the casual/non fans interested with the minimalist stage show and lack of interaction.

[fatyeti24]

It was definitely a worthy headline slot.

 

I think his biggest problem was keeping the casual/non fans interested with the minimalist stage show and lack of interaction.

agreed.  he is of course not obliged to do that, but at such a gig, it does help.  i admired what he did - that he did what he wanted with little concession to festival headliner formalities, but as one of those casuals a lot of it went over my head.

 

i still maintain the cherry picker moment was one of the daftest things i saw all weekend though.  i saw the machine there by the side of the stage before he used it, and just thought, i've been watching that machine build the pyramid on the webcam for weeks, i wonder why it's still there.  

 

that Kanye looked like he was holding on for dear life while a guy dressed in black working the controls tried not to be noticed just added to the weirdness.  surely they could have thought of a better way to do that stunt!

 

still, it added a bit of humour to my evening, and encouraged me to hang around until the end.

 

i don't have any regrets about going to see him, but if i had the weekend over again i'd probably choose something else.

[Gregcharlie]

It was definitely a worthy headline slot.

 

I think his biggest problem was keeping the casual/non fans interested with the minimalist stage show and lack of interaction.

This exactly. I can't be doing with the calls of people saying Pharrell showed him how it was done, Pharrell should have headlined just because he too played the hooks of songs he has written and spoke more to the crowd - which was so generic and bullshitty - Oh yeah and he had those dancers, the 'baes' who can do 'amazing things with their bodies' because they have no inherent value beyond that or whatever objectifying crap it was he said. 

 

Right now, Kanye West doing that kind of thing is simply not a Kanye West show.

[LostRiot]

I had very high expectations, and for me he didn't meet them. 

 

However it was still very good, it was just confusing, too many breaks, we didn't know what was going on, there was a point where everyone started booing because we thought he had stormed off stage or something. It was like everything got really good and energetic and we were all really into it, they he killed the energy with something weird. Also his complete lack of crowd interaction was just a bit shit. For most people Glastonbury is a big deal, and the crowd needs to be fluffed a little bit I think (tell them how awesome they are/Glastonbury is!), aside from the occasional "glaston berries" shout from Kanye and the little bit with the Kim K story he didn't interact with the the crowd at all. 

 

Also while I do like some of the 808s stuff, too much autotuned singing for me. 

 

But the high points where some of the best glasto moments this year, if it had all been as good as the best bits it would up there with the top 5 glasto headliners I've seen, as it happens, it was alright. But to be fair I wasn't bored in any of it.

 

Looked much better on TV I think, much less fucking confusing anyway!

Edited June 30, 2015 by LostRiot

[maelzoid]

I wasn't there.  At the mothership which worked out OK for me (understatement).

 

But I'm getting a little tired of all the negativity by people who don't listen to hiphop generally. If you don't like the genre, how can you expect to like the music. I get that he is has an obnoxious persona, but they can't all be like Dave Grohl.  I like that music is full of characters, and Kanye has done nothing I wouldn't put up with from someone like Prince.

 

And to the 100,000 who signed that petition, they should change it to... "I, the undersigned, am a musical ignoramus who fears any genre that it is not meat and potatoes rock, and expect everyone else to like what I like.

[TomWales]

I just think he has a lot to learn about playing to a festival crowd, it was a good set for the fans.

 

The start was storming I think but that section from Cold through to Blood on the Leaves killed it for a lot of the people around me.

[CC22]

As a Kanye fan I was really looking forward to this and was intrigued to see if he could win over all the petitioners/trolls etc. At the time whilst there I thought it started absolutely brilliantly with Stronger/Power/Ni**as in Paris and began to think it was going to go down as an 'I was there moment'. Admittedly I agree the atmosphere did drop in the middle but I thought he saved it at the end. I actually thought the staging/lighting looked brilliant as well. Plus the whole appearance that he'd stormed off only to end up above the crowd in a cherry picker was genius...playing up to his media portrayal perfectly before a perfect 'Fuck you' to the boos that started to appear. Whilst he's phenomenally arrogant, the guy is clearly self aware, I just get the feeling he couldn't give any less of a shit if people dislike him or his music.

Just started watching it back now as well and to be honest, regardless of the lull (which I've admittedly not got to yet) that opening three songs was incredible.

Also, as a side not, it genuinely baffles me how anyone can find Lee Nelson funny.

Edited June 30, 2015 by CC22

[august1]

I'm confused watching that all day video, did he not just leave a gap so the crowd shouted 'all day n****'? I couldnt hear the backing track thats on the vid down the front

[Gregcharlie]

I'm confused watching that all day video, did he not just leave a gap so the crowd shouted 'all day n****'? I couldnt hear the backing track thats on the vid down the front

 

The mix that went out on TV seemed different to what it sounded like near the front, so much of the bass has been stripped out. 

[rpfranks]

Kanye was incredible. Hands down the best set I saw over the weekend, and one of the best I have ever seen at Glastonbury. The first three songs blew me away. If you genuinely don't like his music then fair enough but there's far too much elitism surrounding the whole thing. It's a festival of contemporary arts, not a rock festival. Broaden your horizons, who knows you may even enjoy it.

 

Oh and Lee Nelson is a cretin.

[fatyeti24]

i think it's a bit simple to assume those who didn't enjoy the Kanye set all wanted to hear a rock band.

 

 

but are we all agreed Simon Brodkin is amassive helmet?

Edited June 30, 2015 by fatyeti24

[LostRiot]

 

The mix that went out on TV seemed different to what it sounded like near the front, so much of the bass has been stripped out. 

 

The bass was almost too much to be honest, clearly he told them to crank the bass, and they did, but on the pyramid stage I think its too much. 

[The Nal]

It was definitely a worthy headline slot.

I think his biggest problem was keeping the casual/non fans interested with the minimalist stage show and lack of interaction.

Which is why thousands left. Also why he was a poor choice of headliner. The worst since Rod Stewart.

[Alcatraz]

It was the most original headline set in the time that I've been going and that needs to be celebrated.

 

I had a fucking blast, and am delighted people watching on TV at home found it cold and unappealing. It's what went down in the field that matters, and I'll have that memory as being simply amazing

[rpfranks]

i think it's a bit simple to assume those who didn't enjoy the Kanye set all wanted to hear a rock band.

 

 

but are we all agreed Simon Brodkin is amassive helmet?

 

I'm more alluding to those opposing it beforehand simply because he is a hip hop artist.