Kanye West

[Rose-Colored Boy]

For those that enjoyed it, were you all pretty far forwards? Like in front of the mixing desks? I ask, because the most unusual thing about that gig seemed to be the lighting; something which apparently lost its effectiveness when you were further back. It certainly didn't translate on TV when they did the long shots.

We were about halfway back in the pit. Tho my Mother was stood right beside me and reacted to it in the same way those further back did.

[CaledonianGonzo]

The only reason I didnt enjoy it was because it was boring. So so boring. And thousands (maybe tens of thousands) felt the same as they were streaming out of the Pyramid Field as fast as they could.

Ive never felt embarrassed for a performer like that before. It was cringing.

Thousands left Metallica too. Similarly mortified for them?

[russycarps]

For those that enjoyed it, were you all pretty far forwards? Like in front of the mixing desks? I ask, because the most unusual thing about that gig seemed to be the lighting; something which apparently lost its effectiveness when you were further back. It certainly didn't translate on TV when they did the long shots.

I was on the barrier of the mixing desk. The lights were definitely one of the better things about his set and if you weren't getting the effect of them the intensity of the whole thing would be really diminished.

But I never have enjoyed a headliner from the back, I've always ended up surging forward at some point and more often than not things dramatically improve. Exceptions being jay z and Bruce Springsteen...

[CaledonianGonzo]

For those that enjoyed it, were you all pretty far forwards? Like in front of the mixing desks? I ask, because the most unusual thing about that gig seemed to be the lighting; something which apparently lost its effectiveness when you were further back. It certainly didn't translate on TV when they did the long shots.

I was quite far back, at least to start with. It felt....I dunno....like German Expressionism or something. Or maybe like the kabuki sort of stuff that Bowie used to do.

Oddly - or not oddly, on the whole - the only thing I saw that was remotely similar over the weekend was the Michael Clarke Company, who were also using large blocks of colour.

[The Nal]

Thousands left Metallica too. Similarly mortified for them?

Marginal in comparison. Not comparable. And I was in the same spot for both.

Ive never seen such an exodus. Anywhere.

Parliment got a bigger crowd as the evening progressed. They were great.

Edited June 30, 2015 by The Nal

[Gregcharlie]

well when your employer tells you to do something, people generally remember...

 

if my boss said "hey, go do this later today", and i said "yes, of course i will", it's generally my fault if i completely forget to do it....

Oh yeah totally. I'm not blaming either of them, I just think it's one of those things that can go wrong in live performance. I mean, Kanye's set wasn't supposed to be polished by any means compared to say Beyonce but she still had the bizarre moment with Tricky which still baffles everyone. Point is, things can and will go wrong, people shouldn't bin an entire performance just because of one detail.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Marginal in comparison. Not comparable. And I was in the same spot for both.

Ive never seen such an exodus. Anywhere.

Fair enough - I got the opposite impression, but then I was a bit out of it at both nights. But I reckon people leaving isn't always an indicator of a disastrous gig, at least, not at Glastonbury. There's always an element of people turning up to gawp and then wandering away when they've had their 20 minutes.

[The Nal]

Fair enough - I got the opposite impression, but then I was a bit out of it at both nights. But I reckon people leaving isn't always an indicator of a disastrous gig, at least, not at Glastonbury. There's always an element of people turning up to gawp and then wandering away when they've had their 20 minutes.

Yeah this is true.

Glad people enjoyed it. But honestly surprised so many did. Ive no desire to hear about shit gigs at Glasto.

[ghostdancer1]

But loads of headliners have had dancers, props, fireworks, lasers, confetti, lights that are more than one colour, etc... Arcade Fire had all of those things, and they are hardly a cheesy pop act.  It's a festival - I am certain that most people in the crowd want a visually interesting show. 

I've watched videos of all the recent Glastonbury headliners and the only ones apart from Kanye West to not have elaborate multicoloured lights are Mumford & Sons and Bruce Springsteen. And most people seem to think their sets were rubbish.

Theatrics matter. It's headlining Glastonbury for god's sake.

 

and Kanye West has done shows with props and dancers before too.

if Arcade Fire played their songs withought all the nonsense, would that make it shit? i've seen them several times just like that and they've probably been the best times. i thought their headline set was average really.

 

i saw many, many bands over the weekend who just played their songs and were brilliant in my opinion.

Kanye West did his songs and was great in my opinion.

 

if dancers and props and all sorts of things to distract from the music were integral to me enjoying acts at Glastonbury, i would have had a really shit one, because most musical acts didn't have such gimmickry.

 

I guess if people need visual stimulation and distraction to enjoy music then it might not have been for them.

 

Edited June 30, 2015 by ghostdancer1

[TomWales]

The only reason I didnt enjoy it was because it was boring. So so boring. And thousands (maybe tens of thousands) felt the same as they were streaming out of the Pyramid Field as fast as they could.

Ive never felt embarrassed for a performer like that before. It was cringing.

 

 

The only real big exodus I noticed was after the Touch The Sky mess up. which was well over an hour in to his set.

 

Before that I only noticed a small trickle of people after about 4 songs.

 

 

Crowd felt no smaller at the end of the set than The Who's did the following night.

[mrsstocksey]

Definitely seems a split between front and back of the field...if you were at the front with his fans and you got to shout/sing along then brilliant. For people towards/at the back who just wanted to be entertained by the Pryamid headliner i think it was harder to follow the flow of his set.

If you were a fan it seems you loved it but I don't think it was the kind of set designed to win many new fans. But then maybe he doesn't give a damn about winning new fans?? I really wanted to love it which is why I'm disappointed.

[Gregcharlie]

But loads of headliners have had dancers, props, fireworks, lasers, confetti, lights that are more than one colour, etc... Arcade Fire had all of those things, and they are hardly a cheesy pop act.  It's a festival - I am certain that most people in the crowd want a visually interesting show. 

I've watched videos of all the recent Glastonbury headliners and the only ones apart from Kanye West to not have elaborate multicoloured lights are Mumford & Sons and Bruce Springsteen. And most people seem to think their sets were rubbish.

Theatrics matter. It's headlining Glastonbury for god's sake.

 

 

You say Arcade Fire not cheesy pop but it's not about the genre of music it's about the aesthetic choice by the artist. Arcade Fire's entire Reflektor tour was all those things because they said they wanted a carnival atmosphere at their gigs and to alter what their gigs up until then had been like.

 

A few years ago Arcade Fire would have probably just had normal lights and worn normal clothes with a bit of confetti at the end like the vast majority of arena acts seem to have and yeah they have like 9 people on stage but it wouldn't have been like it was in 2014. 

 

Similarly Kanye chose to have a minimalistic but intense lighting rig and stage setup as again an aesthetic choice probably to reflect the way his music is right now, Yeezus, All Day etc. 

And to say theatrics matter, yeah they do....and Kanye is pretty bloody theatrical. 

Edited June 30, 2015 by Gregcharlie

[pedmills]

if Arcade Fire played their songs withought all the nonsense, would that make it shit?

Yes. I probably would have enjoyed it anyway, because I like them. But it wouldn't have been as good, and I would felt disappointed.

You may think that visuals make a performance worse, but I am sure you are in small minority.

[topmarksbri]

The only real big exodus I noticed was after the Touch The Sky mess up. which was well over an hour in to his set.

 

Before that I only noticed a small trickle of people after about 4 songs.

 

 

Crowd felt no smaller at the end of the set than The Who's did the following night.

 

 

A lot of people leave early on the Sunday though, even the day ticket locals. 

[Winslow Leach]

You may think that visuals make a performance worse, but I am sure you are in small minority.

 

Or it, y'know, depends on the performance.

[TomWales]

A lot of people leave early on the Sunday though, even the day ticket locals. 

 

 

There are more people on site because of the locals, also a few food stalls close early on the Sunday.

 

I'm sure it's not a big factor that some leave early, on balance there's probably the same amount of people milling about.

 

 

I'd say Flo had a smaller crowd than the other two headliners who seemed to have a roughly similar sized crowd.

[TiZuff]

thought the lighting was a great choice. borderline genius. 

[pedmills]

To say that he didn't bother with any "nonsense" when he got up on a cherry-picker is extraordinary.

Did that not distract from the pureness of the music?

If he was happy to do that, then he could have put a couple of extra colours on his lighting rig. And rehearsed.

[pedmills]

Or it, y'know, depends on the performance.

Did you even read the sentence I wrote?

[ghostdancer1]

Yes. I probably would have enjoyed it anyway, because I like them. But it wouldn't have been as good, and I would felt disappointed.

You may think that visuals make a performance worse, but I am sure you are in small minority.

i never said visuals make a performance worse.

 

i don't think visuals and dancers and props are integral to a good performance though, as the many, many acts I saw at Glastonbury proved, Kanye West included.

[pedmills]

i never said visuals make a performance worse.

 

i don't think visuals and dancers and props are integral to a good performance though, as the many, many acts I saw at Glastonbury proved, Kanye West included.

Okay, fair enough. I entirely agree with this particular post.

[paulmuchmore]

Does the staging/theatrics really matter that much on the Pyramid where you can barely see what's happening because of the flags blocking the view?

 

Despite saying that, I certainly liked what he did with the set. It looked great on the screens and pretty good through the flags from where I was 20m back from the sound stages. But what really matters is the music.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Whether it was a wise one or not is debatable, but the lighting rig and monochrome colour scheme were a deliberate aesthetic choice. It was a designed "something" rather than a lazy "nothing".

[pedmills]

Whether it was a wise one or not is debatable, but the lighting rig and monochrome colour scheme were a deliberate aesthetic choice. It was a designed "something" rather than a lazy "nothing".

This is true, and I do admit that for about the first ten minutes it was one of the best things I have ever seen.

Edited June 30, 2015 by pedmills

[Spud001]

Bit late to the party but I thought it was absolutely incredible. I don't think I will ever see a headliner at a festival with SUCH an atmosphere. Opening with Stronger was a great salute to those who opposed him headliner. Awesome crowd too, every year a headliner has people come back and say "It was so embarrassing, people were leaving in droves" but from where I was everyone was loving it and he coverage proves that too with the sheer volume of the crowd during every song.

Hip Hop is always going to get a bad time at Glasto with the "Real Music" Brigade but I'd take Kanye over a phoned in Killers 'all day'.

Set up was brilliant too, minimal but intense. Felt closer to NIN than a Hip Hop act. It was always going to be all about Kanye and any big big guest like McCartney would have detracted from it. The rare glimpses through the light and smoke seemed to show him beaming at the end of the set. Fair play. "Greatest Living Rockstar in the World" go for it, rather that than it being pinned onto The Courteeners.

Shout out to Pete Townshend for being significantly more of a diva than Kanye. Nice one.