WATCH THE THRONE RCS REVIEW – Good, Bad & Ugly
I watched the throne and it was GREAT!!!! Jay-Z and Kanye West kicked off their “Watch the Throne” on Friday night in Atlanta at Philips Arena. As I walked toward the arena, ticket in hand I could feel a palpable excitement in the air. As I entered the arena and made it to my seat, I was fully immersed in the Watch the Throne mania. This feeling was quickly dispelled.
With a show time of 7:30 and in my seat at 7:20, I could barely stand the thought of waiting 10 minutes before the show would start. As 10 minutes, turned into 20 minutes, which turned into 40 minutes, which turned into 60 minutes which turned into 90 minutes, I felt more like Eff the Throne!!!! At approximately 8:58 an announcement was made 10 minutes until show time however this was 30 minutes after the first 10 minute until showtime announcement!!! At this point impatient concert goers began booing!! This is the UGLY part not the booing, the delay! We waited over an hour and a half before the show started and never got an apology from anyone! We did get a thank you for your patience from Jay-Z but after spending over $200 on tickets and such a long wait, it was too little, and, once again too late!!.
I spoke to concert goers at the Saturday show in Atlanta and the Sunday show in Greensboro and these shows also started late after 9PM. Im inclined to believe Kanye and Jay-Z are actually brilliant businessmen who understand their target market (actually I already knew this). Why you ask? Because 9pm is about the time that everyone was actually in their damn seats!!! CP time, Im just sayn.By the way why was there no opening acts, music or something to keep us entertained?? Thats the bad.
Ok, thats it for the negative because it was all worth it in the end the show was PHENOMENAL!!!! The show opens with H.A.M. Jay-Z and Kanye rise out of the ground like Phoenix out of the ash and stand tall on 2 story high cubes. The cubes were multi purpose not just a stage but also an audio visual centerpiece (times two!). At one point the visuals showed sharks swimming in a tank like the sharks on the shirts they wore with JZ on one sleeve and KW on the other how cute! It was very dark throughout the show and I kept worrying that one of them might fall off the 2 story cube and the tour would be done but thank goodness that didnt happen!!! But I think some additional lighting would help both the audience and the performers!
The laser show left me speechless!!! The laser display rivaled any that you might see in Vegas or at Stone Mountain Park here in Georgia! These guys showed us that hip hop is bigger than hip hop its global domination!!! The staging was minimal because of the lasers, pyrotechnics and cubes but it was perfect. The visuals included paying homage to Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. The sound was AWESOME. I read another blogger whos opinion was that the sound was bad I disagree. I felt the bass thumping in my chest in a 21,000 seat arena, yeah the sound and the super bass were on point!
During the show, Kanye and Jay-Z performed separately and at other times jointly. But it was always a great performance!! In terms of fashion, I loved Kanye;s risk taking! He took many fashion risks especially by wearing a kilt of sorts as part of his three wardrobe changes. One outfit included an embroidered jacket like the one your grandmother would wear during the holidays didnt like it so much but love that Kanye for pushing the envelope! . Also love that he is a passionate singer. You could feel his emotions throughout his performances but especially during his solo rendition of Runaway it was Kanye at his bestest (even in a kilt skirt or whatever the heck it was!).
This was followed by a wardrobe change for Jay-Z. He just changed to a different t-shirt — plain black and swapped his Timbs for red and black Nike Air Force Ones. He performed solo and KILLED IT.
Overall, the show was spectacular, a great time was had by all including Jay-Z and Kanye, if their onstage chemistry is any indication. It was rock and roll, hip hop, pop and music history all at the same time! Jay-Z and Kanye are the rock stars of today akin to the Elvis, Jacksons and Rolling Stones of yesteryear! Yes, I watched the throne and it was GREAT!
PERFORMANCE SET LIST:
- H.A.M.
- Who Gon Stop Me
- Otis
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Gotta Have It
- N- What, N- Who
- Cant Tell Me Nothing
- Jesus Walks
- Diamonds from Sierra Leone
- Public Service Announcement
- You Dont Know
- Run This Town
- Monster
- Power
- Murder to Excellence
- New Day
- Hard Knock Life
- Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
- Good Life
- Empire State of Mind
- Runaway
- Heartless
- Stronger
- On to the Next One
- Dirt Off Your Shoulder
- Touch the Sky
- All of the Lights
- Big Pimpin
- Gold Digger
- 99 Problems
- No Church in the Wild
- Lift Off
- N in Paris
- Made in America
- Why I Love You
