Between the props, costume changes and visual cues, the Kanye West show at the Schottenstein Center Monday night was as much a Vegas spectacle as it was a rap concert.
Whether it was the rack of jeans and khakis accented with the Gap logo during “Spaceship” or the enormous cross in the background during “Jesus Walks,” the show, a part of the Touch the Sky tour, was more than just a singer and his band.
Backed by a percussionist, keyboard player, a DJ and seven stringed-instrument players, West performed songs from his latest album, “Late Registration” and his debut album, “College Dropout.”
West used a number of different props and images on a screen throughout the show, such as a display of bright lights and a disco ball enclosing the arena during “Diamonds from Sierra Leone.” The band was behind square curtains, showing only a shadow of their playing.
West opened the concert with a screen playing a skit of the “Broke Phi Broke” fraternity.
After performing a number of fast-paced songs such as the “New Workout Plan,” West slowed things down and performed the song “Roses,” a song about his grandmother being in the hospital. West performed this song with only a spotlight on him and a hospital bed on stage.
West continued the slowed pace and performed a song about “someone else special to him,” he said, which is about his mother in the song “Hey Mama.”
West also played into the controversy surrounding his Hurricane Katrina Bush-bashing comments by changing the lyrics of “All Falls Down;” instead of “and the white man gets paid off of all of that,” he changed “white man” to “George Bush.”
Perhaps the biggest highlight and most lively songs were towards the end of the show when West performed his latest hit, “Gold Digger.” After saying this was not his first No. 1 hit, he launched into a string of his most popular songs such as “Slow Jamz,” “Jesus Walks” and “Through the Wire.”
Hearing all of his biggest songs in a row got the crowd pumped up and onto their feet, where they stayed for the remainder of the show.
Opening act Keyshia Cole performed both songs from her debut album “The Way It Is” and cover songs, including “I’m Going Down” by Mary J. Blige. Common, who has been another opening act at other Touch the Sky venues, did not perform.
Althought the Touch the Sky Tour crowd only filled half the seats, that did not stop West from putting on an entertaining and lively performance. The half-full Schott felt like a packed house.
