How did the Kanye Feedback go?

[SimoneU2]

How did the crowd respond to Kanye West?

I'm probably wrong, but when i think of U2 fans, i tend to think of a more rock-oriented demographic...not so much the type that are crazy about Hip Hop etc.

But i could be wrong, and maybe its just something different and new...I dont really know his music that much, just a bit from here and there...so I guess I'll find out how it blends in with the crowd tonight.

Cant wait tonight!

 

[hobo]

Kanye was rubbish,
what an insult to U2 fans.
How on earth he ever got the support gig is beyond me.
he was totally out of place, boring and average in performance.

 

[SimoneU2]

I was just reading a review somewhere, and apparantly people booed him in some other concerts....I cant remember where though

..thats kinda not the right attitude/behaviour, but I didnt think U2 and Kanye were a great combination.

 

[bazza]

look - generally most u2 fans wouldn't like him - but give him some credit - he's good at what he does and he's popular. u2 like him. so just appreciate it.

 

[Axver]

In Brisbane, Kanye did not go down very well at all. Most people sat or stood around looking bored, some booed and heckled him. I went with a couple of friends who, although not hiphop fans, will enjoy some songs they hear on the radio and they were looking forward to Gold Digger ... and they thought Kanye was even more boring and terrible than I did! I guess that's because they had expectations, whereas I didn't. He got the loudest cheers not for taking the stage or playing his hits, but for namechecking Brisbane and Australia.

However, at Sydney II last night, I think he went down a whole lot better. Only a few people around me in the inner zone were sitting and some people seemed to be getting into his stuff. I didn't hear any heckling and only the occasional boo.

 

[adrball]

Got to give him credit for getting a Harp onto a Rock Stage. But that's about it.

 

[Outsider]

I'm really surprised at this reaction actually. Kanye sings about different issues than your typical rappers. I saw him perform for the first time at the coachella festival in California and the "rock" audience totally got into it, especially during "Jesus walks"

He may be an arrogant mofo but the man is a great performer with some great hits.
After the performance I saw, I would've definitely rather have seen Kanye open for U2 than Damien Marley IMO.

 

[wang_chung]

I didnt mind Kanye. If he was on the US tour, i think he would get a better reception.

 

[CTU2fan]

I like Kanye, and I thought he was good live (not at a U2 gig). I wouldn't have called him boring but it's possible that he isn't putting on as good a performance as when I saw him.

For the people that don't think he should open for U2, is it because you don't like him, don't like rap, what?

 

[BVS]

How did the crowd respond to Kanye West?

I'm probably wrong, but when i think of U2 fans, i tend to think of a more rock-oriented demographic...

I tend to think of a more open minded demographic, but obviously I'm mistaken.

as you can see from this and many other threads...

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Overall, at Sydney 1, he went down well. Some patches of the crowd were right into him, having the time of their lives, while others were just - while not at all hostile - not paying much or any attention. He suffered from bad sound at Sydney 1 though. The bass was drowning out his voice on many occasions. I thought he was great. It's tough to pull hip-hop off in a stadium because by nature it is bass heavy, but his enthusiasm was commendable. Great to see someone that huge trying really hard to sell themselves. Kanye is a very smart guy. There's a very good reason why he's on tour with U2. As Bono said "he's a professor trying to pass himself off as a student". If he gets a better publicist, he's going to be huge for a decade at least to come.

I think he's an excellent support act.

 

[Shag On A Rock]

Kayne was brilliant. Really fab. The backup singer had a fab voice too. I agree with Earnie, the bass was really heavy on Sydney I. I could feel it in my chest it was that loud but thats not a bad thing. We were right next to his fan club and they were going off. It was contagious. We had a ball.

 

[neilm]

I wasn't a Kanye fan but I gave him a listen and I'm still not a Kanye fan. I was with a friend of mine who was a signed hip hop artist years ago and he said that "this is the kind of thing that gives hip hop/rap a bad name."

Sure his backing singers could sing, but the fact that they had better and more powerful voices than Kanye, something should have been done about that in the mix because half the time you couldn't hear what he was saying.

As with the majority, I always thought it was a strange choice for support, but at the end of the day I think U2 try to give fans a taste of something different with support acts from time to time. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't.

 

[martha]

I didnt mind Kanye. If he was on the US tour, i think he would get a better reception.

He was.

And it sounds like he did.

I can't imagine that he'd be all that great in a stadium.

But then, I think everybody sucks at a stadium gig.

 

[Liesje]

He was.

And it sounds like he did.

I can't imagine that he'd be all that great in a stadium.

But then, I think everybody sucks at a stadium gig.

I agree, I saw him in St. Louis (his first night w/ U2 I think, Bono came out before him and told the crowd to give him a chance) and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I'm not a fan of his, but I'm open-minded. I can see how it would get lost in a stadium though, especially if people aren't really there to see him. At least in the arenas, he didn't have a show like U2 does, so I can see where the people towards the back would be pretty bored.

 

[AussieU2fanman]

It still baffles me as to why the wouldn't get some sort of freaking ROCK BAND to open for U2. Who couldn't see the virtually unanimous disapproval coming for a hip hop artist at a rock concert? Big mistake by U2, they should have at least got some local Australian rock acts, I'll even take Jet over Kayne.

Better yet, get Def Leppard, Saxon, Whitesnake or Dokken to open

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Since ZooTV has there been a U2 tour that hasn't at some point featured a hip-hop act?

I don't - and never will - understand why the support act MUST be from the same genre.

 

[dazzlingamy]

i agree ernie! i think its great to have a bit of a mix....why would i want to see a b and just like u2 before u2? i like support acts that surprise you!

Kanye didn't go down too well where i was sitting for him....everyone looked bored and i was the only one dancing! And i don't even like him! hahahaha
i enjoyed his show though and his back up singer...she got the moooooooves! BUT his style is not suited to a stadium....and so that makes his performance suffer sadly...but....i admit...i enjoyed it!

 

[frncne]

I was at Sydney 1 and was dreading it but it was pretty good.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

Kanye went down really well tonight. He's a great performer - brilliant in fact. Hip-hop does not wash over so well in stadiums. That, to me, is the only problem. Otherwise, I think he's fantastic.

 

[martha]

Better yet, get Def Leppard, Saxon, Whitesnake or Dokken to open

Yeah, nostaglia acts are always preferable to current acts.

Why not just get a doo-wop group?

 

[Axver]

I felt that Kanye did not go down as well at Sydney III as he did at Sydney II: The people around me seemed quite bored by him. Not that they were being closed-minded or hostile or anything some of you folks like to allege, but just not captivated by his act.

What bothers me most is that U2 aren't showcasing a local band. I don't necessarily mean that at the expense of Kanye either - the European stadium shows had two openers. I think it would have been good if U2 had recruited a local act too.

 

[BVS]

Who couldn't see the virtually unanimous disapproval coming for a hip hop artist at a rock concert?

Those with open minds...

 

[thatsnotmypuppy]

Last night (Sydney 3) the response was pretty... non existent. However there was a big cheer at the start of 'Golddigger' and 'Touch The Sky' - so a few people got into it. I gotta say I am not a fan but 'Jesus Walks' was pretty fucking awesome last night.

 

[drifter269]

I thought the whole idea of getting a support act was to get the crowd pumping for the main act?? I think if we had a local rock act like Powder Finger or Jet to open the show, a whole heap of the crowd would actually turn up earlier

 

[AussieU2fanman]

Those with open minds...

Nice logic, if you don't like something, you have a closed mind.

Not everything is automatically brilliant if you 'open your mind.' I've listened to his music and it sucks, and my mind is very open (I like 2pac to Sigur ross to My morning jacket to New Order)
And I think the crowd reaction certainly backs me up on my assesment of Kayne West, so obviously my sentiment resonates with them too.

Yeah, nostaglia acts are always preferable to current acts.

Why not just get a doo-wop group?

It was a fantasy and I was obviously kidding as it's totally unfeasable. Def leppard hasn't even been to Australia.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

I thought the whole idea of getting a support act was to get the crowd pumping for the main act?? I think if we had a local rock act like Powder Finger or Jet to open the show, a whole heap of the crowd would actually turn up earlier

Two of the single most boring acts this country has ever produced - but you're right, put them on the bill and more people would have been there earlier.

I don't care if you don't like Kanye, it's perfectly understandable, it's the "why is there hip-hop at a U2 gig?" that I don't understand.

 

[Axver]

I thought the whole idea of getting a support act was to get the crowd pumping for the main act?? I think if we had a local rock act like Powder Finger or Jet to open the show, a whole heap of the crowd would actually turn up earlier

... Jet would be even worse than Kanye. At least Kanye's show is just dull. Jet are offensive to the senses.

What I find especially sad about Kanye's set is that the main way for him to get cheers is to either make comments between songs about the city he's in or U2, or play snippets of Eurythmics or Verve songs. That's a sign that you are not a good performer. The man needs better songs. Now, I'm not going to hide the fact that I loathe hiphop, but at least some hiphop artists come up with decent beats and rhythms. Kanye's songs feel directionless and uninspired.

 

[Arcadion]

I didn't think Kayne was as bad as I thought but it's just not my kind of music. Would have rather had any of the other bands they have supported this tour.
And the only song of his I find half-decent (Heard Them Say) wasn't even played!

 

[Earnie Shavers]

It was played last night. Wasn't on Friday.