Kanye West is the artist you love to hate. Even if you think he’s a douche, which he is, you still think he’s a little brilliant.  Sure, the man’s ego can barely fit through the door, but he pushes boundaries and accomplishes what he wants, which no one can rightfully look down upon.  With this slight hesitancy, accompanied with an overflowing eagerness to witness this sure-to-be spectacle, I made my way to West’s concert, Yeezus, Dec.3, at the Sprint Center.

The night started off better than I could have imagined; my friends and I were automatically upgraded to floor seats, along with everyone else who had purchased tickets in the back half of the arena.  The Sprint Center ended up being, very oddly, filled up on the floor and three sections on either side.  A very small crowd of about 4500 people. Despite this, the opening act, Kendrick Lamar, another well-known rapper, started off strong with well-known hits “Poetic Justice” “B**ch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” “m.A.A.d City” “Swimming Pools (Drank)”  and “Money Trees” that were all crowd favorites. Lamar took it up a level, despite having an impressive lights show and stage set-up for an opener, by bringing out local favorite, Tech N9ne, to the stage.

A 45-minute wait later, while West’s crew set up the formidable stage which consists of a huge mountain and giant, moving, round screen hovering above the crowd and catwalk that extended through the entirety of the floor section.  Having previously seen pictures of the mountain, I was excited to experience it from so close and also being in such close proximity to the catwalk.

West didn’t disappoint.  Opening up strong with “On Sight” and popular single “New Slaves” the energy started high and got the audience hooked to the performance aspect  of the show involving his eccentrically dressed dancers. The see-through, mesh, nude bodysuits and panty-hose type face masks were difficult to take in at first, but like all aspects of the Yeezus show, the artistic purpose was apparent.

The show progressed into about four parts, all with different weather scenes flashing across the screen and marked by a different word, such as “Seeking” or “Falling”.  West made only three or four costume changes throughout the entirety of the nearly 30 song show, but made a statement with his intricate masks that covered his whole head.

West played the entirety of Yeezus, along with many of his past hits, including “Clique”, “All of the Lights”, “Jesus Walks” and “Heartless”.  The crowd sang along to every song, and West frequently paused and let the audience chant or sing along. The energy was high throughout the show, the only exception being a brief 10 minute interlude where West thanked the audience for the opportunity to play and also honored his mother, who died six years ago.

My favorite songs performed were by far “Blood on the Leaves”, “All of the Lights” and the closer, “Bound 2”.  These three were explosive, high-energy and obvious crowd favorites. The only complaints I had were the disconnect I felt from West and the crowd most of the concert due to his masked face and infrequent interaction with the crowd standing around the stage. West’s usual “I am a creative genius”  and “I am a God” complex was present even as he thanked the crowd for attending, something that was a definite turn-off for me and many around me.  Despite West’s considerable ego, the crowd still chanted and praised him, which almost made a joke of the off-color comments, lightening the mood.

At the end of the three-hour show, I had a huge smile and on my face and ceiling-high expectations for future artist’s staging and performance value.  West not only performed to the top of his ability, he made the experience memorable and unique.