My best friends from my hometown (the ever-growing metropolis of Sycamore, Illinois) have a Facebook group through which we update each other on our latest dates, scandals, problems and ideas while we’re away at school. When one of the girls posted, “KANYE AND CUDI AT SUMMERFEST ON JUNE 30th!” I responded with, “See you there,” and bought two tickets straightaway.
I ended up taking my boyfriend and after 20 minutes of parking issues, we were finally on the grounds and completely unsure of what to do. Summerfest is the world’s largest music festival and hence, there are so many bands playing that you can’t find silence anywhere. We heard lyrics in passing such as, “Sheep go to heaven, goats to go hell” and ate the standard, regrettable bratwursts and ice cream sundaes. The festival during the day is relaxing and enjoyable, and hands down the best place I’ve ever been for people watching. Think about it – you’ve got the punk rockers, the rapper wannabes, the country cuties…. Everyone and their uncle were there.
Obviously, we were waiting all day for our Kanye concert. We met up with two of my best friends from home, who had, to my pleasant surprise, brought other friends from home, as well as friends from University of Wisconsin. It was one big reunion, and everyone was friends with everyone instantly. I’ve never been to another event where I’ve seen so many strangers become such good friends so quickly. My boyfriend ran into some fraternity brothers as well and the whole group of us anxiously awaited the artists.
Kid Cudi was a great start to the show, but his set-list was surprisingly quick. For a lot of us, we felt it was anti-climactic. He played his biggest hits, “Pursuit of Happiness” and “Up, Up, and Away,” which, to be honest, are the two Cudi songs I’m familiar with. A couple of the guys I was with were disappointed Cudi fans, wishing he’d have played other songs more popular among the truer fans. But hey, I was happy.
The biggest problem I had with the concert was the amount of time between Cudi’s set and Kanye’s. We had lawn seats, so fortunately, it was easy for us to move around and socialize with all the friends we had found. However, it was clear that those in the reserved seats were antsy and uncomfortable. There isn’t really anywhere to go in the outdoor arena. I’d definitely recommend the lawn to anyone who wants a more relaxed, party atmosphere. And when Kanye finally came to the stage with, “Touch the Sky,” that party atmosphere exploded.
The entire theatre, which is outdoors and right off of Lake Michigan, went insane. The lights were incredible and the show itself was extremely well done. Every song had a light show and phenomenal effects that even we could see from our far-away seats. I almost forgot I was in the beautiful outdoor theatre, and felt like I was back on Joe’s dance floor with the girls!
Kanye’s set made fans old and new happy- from his opener, “Touch the Sky” to his insane light show during “All of the Lights,” to his short but sweet first verse of “All Falls Down.” Some fans, including my boyfriend, were disappointed (to say the least) that he only played certain parts of the older songs, especially “All Falls Down,” arguably the most popular Kanye song to date. However, he did perform crowd favorites such as, “Jesus Walks” and “Gold Digger” from start to finish, which created some hilarious rap battles among some of my guy friends.
The concert concluded with Kanye’s anthem to his mother, “Hey Mama” which I felt was a bit of a downer on the concert. I personally thought he could have chosen a better song, even though I do love, “Hey Mama.” But overall, the concert was a success – from the friends to the music to the atmosphere. I will definitely be attending more concerts in Milwaukee’s Marcus Amphitheatre.
Some of my friends had seen Kanye multiple times before this concert, some, like my boyfriend, once before, and some, including me, experienced our first Kanye show that night. The entire group, though, agreed that this show was incredible. Each and every one of us left the concert still singing our favorite lines from, “ET” and “ Through the Wire” and most of us were still talking about the show a week later when we heard a Cudi song in the car.
Would I recommend a Kanye show? Yes – especially to anyone who can see him in Chicago. He made it clear that he loves his home city- and the fans were loving him for it, even in Milwaukee.