Kanye West puts KeyArena into orbit

Concert review |

Kanye West lives up to his promise to be the greatest star in the hip-hop universe with his "Glow In The Dark Tour," which kicked off Wednesday night at the Key. He not only took the concert experience to a new level, he took it to a new planet.

It was a magnificent, thrilling, uplifting, sensory experience, unlike any other pop concert before it. West has rethought the whole idea of live performance, from the staging to the lighting to the overall message. He took the excited, involved, constantly moving young crowd on an out-of-this-world journey, to Planet Kanye and back.

West was the only inhabitant of this lonely planet, the only person on stage during his 90-minute set. A 10-member group of musicians and singers were in a pit well below him, all of them in black to make them even more obscure.

The huge, very tall set was like the uneven surface of another world. West first appeared lying on an elevated plaform, which eventually became like a spaceship, moving up, down and sideways, with smoke and flashing lights. An enormous video screen created the look and feel of space travel and otherworldly landscapes.

Using raps and songs from his entire career, he tells a story of a quest for love, knowledge and recognition. He returns to Planet Earth with the hard-won wisdom that life is a gift and every day a miracle.

He opened with "Good Morning," the lead cut from his latest CD, "Graduation." He blended most of his key raps — "Gold Digger," "Jesus Walks," "Hey Mama," "Stronger" and, of course, "Spaceship" and "I'll Fly Away" — into the narrative, changing some lyrics, including taking the N-word out of "Gold Digger" and adding Seattle name-checks to other raps..

His show was amazingly tight, given the elaborate, seamless, creative nature of it all. It was an absolutely amazing production.

The star-studded show was impressive in its entirety, with three more of the most talented, versatile, pop-oriented, positive acts in hip-hop.

Rihanna was like a hip-hop supermodel, looking sexy and beautiful as she performed with four dancers, two background singers and three musicians. Her huge, Grammy-winning hit "Umbrella" was the high point.

N.E.R.D., featuring gifted singer-songwriter-producer Pharrell Williams, backed by six musicians (including two drummers), started strong. But his voice gave out, due, he said, to inhaling stage smoke.

Lupe Fiasco, along with a DJ, co-rapper Mr. G, and three excellent pop/rock vocalists, kicked it off with a short, powerful, fun set. The sound was body-slamming loud, during his and the other sets. That only helped bring everyone to their feet, and kept them dancing all night.

Patrick MacDonald: 206-464-2312 or pmacdonald@seattletimes.com