Best.Concert.EvAr!!!

Somehow, I managed to experience the best hip-hop performance of my life and not blog about it for 10 whole days! Who would have guessed it. But better late than never, right?

On May 10, my brother, Woo, and I went to the Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, VA for the "DC stop" of Kanye's Glow in the Dark Tour. I'd been excited about this concert for about two months and I had this wack joke going for about a month of that time where I'd tell my friends I was going to buy glow in the dark underwear to wear to the concert. Needless to say, I was BOWL-SHYTTING!

We got to the concert late. Well, late according to the time it was slated to start, 6:20pm. But I was only going to see one person that night, Kanye Tuda. From what I understand, Lupe Fiasco was the first to perform, followed by N.E.R.D. and Rihanna. We got there about 3/4 of the way through Rihanna's set.

It's going to be tough for me to convey just how crazy the atmosphere was once Kanye hit the stage but I'd compare what I experienced that night to what people say Woodstock was like. We had lawn seats so we were in the middle of a sea of people. There were glow in the dark shoes, necklaces, glasses, and shirts scattered throughout the crowd.

Once Kanye hit the stage is was like a riot from pretty much that point on. What impressed me the most was that Kanye did his entire set by himself with the exception of "Touch the Sky" (which he brought Lupe out for), so it felt like a very personal experience between him and the crowd. The light-show, smoke, and moving platform he stood on were all nice touches that gave you the feeling that you were a part of something half-astronomical, half-hip-hop. It was definitely far different from the feeling of the Jay-Z/MJB concert. It was FAR better.

Kanye's set probably lasted about an hour or so but we could have stood there dancing and chanting for another day or two. This was hands-down the best hip-hop concert I've ever been to and I would pay $100 for a Kanye show any day. Oddly enough, I paid $35 for my ticket to this concert and left feeling like it was worth $100. Whereas, I went to see Jay-Z and Mary J and paid $100+ for tickets and left feeling like I should have only paid $50.

If you have the opportunity to go check out the Glow in the Dark Tour, make sure you do. Even if you have to sit waaaaaaay in the back or waaaaayyyyy up high. Trust me, it's worth every penny. And in 10 years when Kanye's touring like the Grateful Dead, you'll be able to say you were there when he set a new benchmark for hip-hop tours.

Just ask Diddy...
And if you don't believe me or Diddy, ask EsKay or ask MTV.