KANYE WEST AND LADY GAGA

“FAME KILLS” TOUR CANCELLED

(Phoenix, AZ) – Live Nation announced today that the Kanye West and Lady Gaga “Fame Kills” tour scheduled for November 10 at US Airways Center, has been cancelled.

Refunds are available at the point of purchase.  Tickets purchased online and via phone will be refunded automatically.

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The stage is being completely transformed.  Two yellow and red striped canopies stand on opposite ends, each housing a huge mock-up of an organ.  In the center of the US Airways Arena situated in the heart of downtown Phoenix, a huge inflatable archway is being erected, decorated with the words “THR33 RINGZ” and T-Pain’s profile, complete with the top hat.  The music starts and a ballerina begins spinning around the stage, accompanied by two white-painted mimes break dancing in contrast to the classical dancer.  The audience is screaming, jumping on their feet, and T-Pain enters, the ringmaster of this crazy stage circus.  He walks to stage left where the DJ is standing behind the mock-up of an organ, and from inside of it bust two miniature mimes, already break dancing like their larger counterparts.  The DJ, with his fingers on the Apple laptop, switches the music and suddenly T-Pain is singing “The Good Life“, a hit song from Kanye West’s Graduation album.  His performance of his part of the song is spot-on, but because of his limited role the song is short and unsatisfying.

The lights dim and the sounds of machine guns and bomb blasts echo throughout the arena.  The miniature mimes have transformed into soldiers, their clothes now camouflage.  T-Pain reappears on the stage, wielding a bazooka, and he has a look to him like he intends to use it.  As soon as it explodes from his shoulder, a woman comes from behind the stage on stilts that must be over twenty feet tall, dancing to the tune of Flo Rida’s “Low“, leading into Chris Brown’s “Kiss Kiss“, both songs with great concert potential but unfortunately fall short due to T-Pain’s limited role in the actual songs.  This is the most frustrating part of the entire experience; most of the hit songs that the crowd really wants to hear are cut short because they’re not actually songs that appear on T-Pain’s albums.  There needs to be a more concerted effort towards the actual music of the concert and less towards the theatrics, especially if T-Pain wants to be the ringleader of the three-ring circus he calls the music industry.

Maybe T-Pain can read minds, or maybe he has just been saving the real music until now, because the next two songs are performed completely, and they’re huge hits as well.  They are “Buy U A Drank” and “Bartender“, and the bass from the speakers is hitting so hard that the sound waves can be felt against all of the bones and organs inside of the body; one note can cause the heart to completely seize until the next note comes along and revives it back into working order.

The digital clock on the side of the stage indicating how much time is left on the set has now gone to zero, yet the music continues, and it’s not T-Pain’s music either. 2-Pac’s “California Love” is playing, and there must be a dozen people dancing around on the stage.  Something is not right.  They’re stalling for some reason, and it must be because Lil Wayne is not ready yet.  The DJ picks “California Love” because it is the song most able to relate to a Phoenix audience.  It is a stinging reminder of just how small of an influence Arizona’s musicians have had on popular music.  It proves how much more Arizona needs to establish itself in the music industry and assert itself out of the shadows and secrecy.  We can’t be cool by standing next to 2-Pac forever.

Every performer that had any part in the concert is standing onstage, and the last act for them is Dj Khaled & T-Pain’s “I’m So Hood“.  Of course, T-Pain’s contribution is only the first thirty seconds or so and the chorus, but this is actually a pretty decent song, and considering that none of the performers expected to be on stage still, they’re doing a pretty good job of improvising a coordinated stage presence.  It ends with T-Pain facing their semi-circle, microphone cocked in his arms, spraying down everyone individually until he is the only one left standing.  And that’s exactly the way he would like things to be.

After an hour of waiting, the crowd is beginning to get very uneasy.  Every few minutes brings another round of the crowd booing, and finally Lil Wayne’s stage begins to lower.  All of the individual instruments belong in their own three-walled cage, and the first to lower belongs to the cello player.  A huge screen projecting a symphony playing appears behind the cellist as she plays a haunting piece.  On the left side of the stage, the guitar stage lowers, followed by the drums.  It has all the sound of a classical piece, certainly not something expected from a rap concert.  The DJ lowers down, scribbling on the turntables, and the crowd is looking around for the lead performer, Lil Wayne.  They’re expecting him to run out of the side of the stage, but he has bigger plans.  There is an explosion of white smoke right in front of the DJ, and the headliner materializes onto the stage once the smoke clears.  Wearing a black leather jacket, large black aviator glasses, he immediately goes to work, starting off with the epic “Mr Carter“.  This is Lil Wayne at his strongest; cunning lyrics backed by a down-tempo and classical instrumental.  He even leaves in Jay-Z’s parts of the song, paying the New York rapper the respect he deserves.  Lil Wayne is working hard to cement his name amongst the list of greats that Jay-Z is a part of, and it will dry that much faster if he continues to put out great songs like “Mr Carter“.

After a quick monologue and an explanation for his tardiness(border patrol issues), T-Pain shoots back onto the stage driving a Segway with dice on the handlebars and superman logos on the wheels.  Zipping from one end of the stage to the other, he joins Lil Wayne in performing one of the newest hits, “Got Money”, and the noise of the crowd is the loudest it has been yet.  When they switch glasses with each other, one can just taste the chemistry between the two of them; they take turns teasing each other to the admiration of the crowd.  The two part ways by Lil Wayne showing respect with a salute, and he’s back to doing it alone, singing “The Sky is the Limit“.

Once the song is done, Lil Wayne takes the time to remind everyone that he is “the best rapper alive” and ask the crowd, “Who bought my first CD?”, leading into a cover of Juvenile’s famous “Back Dat Azz Up“.  He doesn’t perform the entire song, but the minute or so that he does is pretty entertaining.  Nothing is off-limits to this Grammy nominated entertainer; his stranglehold on popular music is only getting stronger every day.  From the back of the stage erupts three flaming geysers.  The flames are so hot that even the audience on the floor can feel the heat, but Lil Wayne shows no change in posture as it sears against his back.  He runs offstage, and several acts from his Young Money label take his place, but the audience shows very little interest.  They’re here to see Weezy, and it’s slightly annoying for him to take his concert time to plug his new record label.

Finally the lights dim and Lil Wayne is sitting in the middle of the stage, with a white electric guitar on his lap.  This makes the show far more dynamic; the audience is excited to see what kind of noise the New Orleans rapper can create with six strings.  He starts singing “I wouldn’t care if you were a prostitute/It wouldn’t make a difference” from the song “Prostitute Flange“, a slow love song aimed towards the female crowd.  His voice is nothing special, but it shows the amount of courage and confidence he possesses to record a love song.  His hands stay on the guitar for the entire length of the song, but only about four total notes are ever strummed.  Those in the crowd that appreciate true musicianship and true artists are left disappointed and even feeling a little tricked.  However, all of the audience that was left stunned has little time to dwell because the familiar quadruplet synth intro of “Lollipop” is playing over the speakers.  Four thick girls dressed in neon green and orange outfits are dancing scandalously while another is showing her prowess with a stripper pole in the center of the stage.  Between the method of dancing and the choice of outfits the strip club theme fits perfectly with the song; it is a huge hit but its success will probably only last as a song played in gentleman’s clubs.

Then one of the most famous riffs ever written distorts its way through the speakers, loud and instantly recognizable.  Flames are shooting everywhere, and Lil Wayne is wearing a black suit and skeleton hand glove.  This is the kind of genre-bending music that can separate a world-class entertainer from one-hit wonders; it is so loud that the guitar is threatening to deafen the onlookers, and as soon as that level of intensity is established, it disappears through Lil Wayne climbing to the back of the stage and laying down, singing the hook to “My life“.  It’s actually a pretty sobering moment, and should have been the end of the concert.  Unfortunately “A Milli” was the last song played, and because of it’s cheap production value and annoying repetition a sour taste is left in the mouth of everyone expecting a better ending to a very intense show.  Lil Wayne attempts to salvage this by bringing out a flamethrower on a turret and sprays the flames around the stage, but he really needs a better song to coordinate with this kind of intensity, something like the Iron Man riff piercing through the ears amongst the chaos and the heat of the flames.

Regardless, there are times in the concert where there is so much noise and energy that even those that dont like the style of music or have little faith in the ability of a rap concert to be musically pleasing, it is an experience in itself just to be part of such incredible collective energy shared between thousands of people.  A concert such as this, although not musically perfect, should give many listeners and fans new faith in the live performance of hip hop and rap.

See more photos of the Lil Wayne concert in Phoenix right here!

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1. “3 Peat”
2. “Mr. Carter” (ft. Jay-Z)
3. “A Milli”
4. “Got Money” (ft. T-Pain)
5. “Comfortable” (ft. Babyface)
6. “Dr. Carter”
7. “Phone Home”
8. “Tie My Hands” (ft. Robin Thicke)
9. “Mrs. Officer” (ft. Bobby Valentino, Kidd Kidd1)
10. “Let the Beat Build”
11. “Shoot Me Down” (ft. D. Smith)
12. “Lollipop” (ft. Static Major)
13. “La La” (ft. Brisco, Busta Rhymes)
14. “Playing with Fire2″ (ft. Betty Wright)
15. “You Ain’t Got Nuthin” (ft. Fabolous, Juelz Santana)
16. “DontGetIt”

Release Date: June 10, 2008
Label: Cash Money Records

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The London-based emerging singer/rapper/songwriter Estelle will appear as Legend’s special guest. (hit song American Boy featuring Kanye West)

A wildly talented singer, songwriter and pianist, Grammy winner John Legend has established himself as one of R&B’s most important new stars by releasing the top five albums “Get Lifted” and “Once Again,” as well as the moving top twenty hit “Ordinary People.” A highly desired collaborator, John Legend has worked with artists as diverse as Jay-Z and Tony Bennett.

John Legend, whose first leg of the North American tour kicked off in November, adds Phoenix to a second leg of the Grammy-winning artist’s tour. Legend’s upcoming tour dates mark the artist’s first major concert series since his massively successful world tour in 2007 which was captured on the Live From Philadelphia CD and DVD.

Legend’s most recent album, Evolver, recently reached the #4 slot on the Billboard 200 best-selling albums chart, #1 position on America’s R&B Album chart, #1 on the Album Retailer chart and #1 on the Digital Albums chart. One of the most eagerly awaited releases of 2008, Evolver is Legend’s first full-length studio album in two years and includes Estelle as a special guest. In addition to Estelle, guests on Evolver include OutKast’s Andre 3000, R&B/pop superstar Brandy and Legend’s longtime collaborator Kanye West. Songs on Evolver include the single Green Light (featuring Andre 3000), It’s Over (featuring Kanye West), Everybody Knows, No Other Love (featuring Estelle), “Satisfaction,” “This Time,” “Cross The Line,” “I Love, You Love,” “Good Morning,” “If You’re Out There,” and “Quickly” (featuring Brandy).

Tickets are still available! Purchase tickets via Live Nation.

The Arizona Review is your connection to everything surrounding John Legend’s Phoenix concert. Be on the lookout for exclusive photographs of the John Legend concert in the coming days!

See exclusive photos of the John Legend / Estelle Concert here!

Photo Source (John Legend): GOOD music/Columbia Records
Photo Source (Estelle): Atlantic Records

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Original Release Date: November 24, 2008
Label: Roc-A-Fella Records

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