Yeezy Season Approachin'

So, it seems that we'll really get to talk about a musical event by Kanye West. With his usual ways and tight schedules without notice, the rapper from Chicago held his very personal show at the "Forum di Assago" in Milan to present "Vultures", the first of two albums in collaboration with Ty Dolla $ign.

The outcome of the concert was à la Kanye West, for better or for worse.

Performance

First of all, to be as precise as possible, the one on February 22nd was not a real concert, but rather a "listening party". Unlike a concert, the listening party involves the playback of a new album from beginning to end (live or with the original recording) and not a setlist of songs specifically designed to be performed live.

For this reason, you should not be surprised if the performance largely consisted of the playback of all the songs included in Vultures. Fortunately, I said "largely" because Kanye decided to include in the show also "Everybody", a highly anticipated track by all fans that will be part of Vultures 2 (to be released in May 2023), which has already gone viral on the web despite not being officially released, thanks to the other listening parties for the album held worldwide. 

If the title rings a bell, well, you're right: Mr. West has indeed decided to take up the chorus of the famous Backstreet Boys song and leave the interpretation of this powerful and catchy chorus to the legendary Charlie Wilson, already a faithful collaborator of Kanye's in the days of Bound 2. The outcome? Obviously sensational.

The scenario and atmosphere were incredibly minimal from start to finish: Kanye and Ty Dolla completely dressed in black and masked  covering their entire face, some smoke leaking here and there from time to time, and the entire Forum parterre at their disposal to move and incite the crowd during the listening party. The guests were not lacking: among Quavo, Rich the Kid, Playboi Carti, etc., the stage was well filled during the performance, but obviously none of them took the initiative and dared to sing their verse in the album.

Following the playback of "King", the last song of the album, all the artists progressively left the concert area, leaving the stage completely empty and the spectators in confusion. What to do now? Is the live over? Do we go home? Is there any surprise and should we stay put? No one knew what to do but, fortunately, almost everyone stayed in their seats hoping that something would happen. And indeed, a few minutes later, the Forum exploded in a cry of joy when out of nowhere some of Kanye West's most iconic songs were played. In particular, "Can't Tell Me Nothing", "Father Stretch My Hands pt. 2" and "Runaway" made the entire audience scream with joy. All this, of course, without the slightest presence of the rapper from Chicago or anyone else. A nice way to say goodbye, despite everything.

Setlist

As mentioned above, the live was divided into the "Listening party" section with the songs from Vultures and the unreleased "Everybody" + the closing DJ set with the revival of some songs from Kanye West's past.

Although the tracks were clearly not performed live, I must admit that the collective listening at the Forum made me reassess some songs from the album. In particular, "Paid" and "Keys to my life" managed to win me over thanks to the energy of this live, since, personally, I had other preferences from the listens I had made before February 22nd.

Audience

The part that surprised me the most, however, was the audience. Forum (almost) sold out and intent on singing with great enthusiasm all the songs from an album just released by an artist who is there but is not physically singing or performing on a stage. The desire to see Kanye West live has overcome even the uncertainties arising from this innovative and never-before-tried format in Italy.

Ty Dolla was with Kanye all the time and, as mentioned before, numerous guests took turns in the parterre. It was clear to everyone, however, that anyone who just wanted to see Kanye, treated like a God even when he's just physically there and occasionally approaching the various stands. The power of music and this artist strike once again.

Final Touch

If anyone else had attempted a format like this for their own performance, it would probably have been a total flop. Kanye West's strength, however, lies  in his ability to transcend ordinary performances through his spectacular sense and creative expression, thus managing to create a collective listening experience that,will remain impressed in the minds of all present.

Of course, a real concert would have been ten thousand times more exciting and thrilling to experience, and also to tell about. In addition to this, it would obviously have made more sense to attend this listening party before the album was released on all streaming platforms worldwide, in order to give the audience a certain exclusivity in listening to a totally unreleased album, as theoretically was supposed to happen in October 2023 in Reggio Emilia (an event then canceled due to the impossibility of organizing something like this with the usual very short notice).

But, despite all the absurdities that surrounded the artist and this damned listening party from the very beginning, I would have accepted to see Kanye West in any form or situation just to attend one of his live performances. The event didn't have the same electrifying vibes as a concert, but you could certainly not remain indifferent to this performance. In conclusion, I will conclude by saying that Kanye West's listening party on February 22, 2024, was the greatest non-concert of my life!

Hot gignwings review

Performance: 🌶🌶

Production: 🌶

Setlist: 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

Venue: 🌶🌶🌶🌶

Crowd: 🌶🌶🌶🌶