Much has been made about Kanye West's "Yeezus" tour, and most of it doesn't have anything to do with the performances themselves. Rather, most of the attention has been focused on frequent cancellations and postponements. The tour seems to be back on track, for the time being, as it picked up where it left off in Philadelphia on Saturday night.
The show was West's first performance in 19 days, due to a reorganization of the planned stops due to logistical issues. A reoccurring complaint from engineers and arena officials that had hosted the "Yeezus" tour was that the epic scope of the equipment and technology involved, coupled with the tight nature of the original schedule, didn't allow enough time to transport and set up the set between dates. The final straw seemed to be when a truck carrying parts of West's massive LED screen was in an accident, dealing significant damage to the equipment. West went on hiatus, and recently released a new schedule with hopes of clearing up the issue of transporting the huge set. Unfortunately for fans in locations such as Columbus, OH and Vancouver, this meant cancellations.
The performance seemed to flowing smoothly based on the Philadelphia performance. West's approach was on par with the descriptions of his previous dates, wearing a variety of masks and hiking around a makeshift mountain. He touched on a number of topics one might expect from the rapper, including being yourself and how corporate radio doesn't want him to be himself. One topic he didn't offer any commentary on: The delay leading up to his eventual performance in the city of brotherly love. Based on video from the show, the fans didn't seem to mind the wait.
The best indicator of if "Yeezus" is back on track will be its Sunday night show in Boston, and whether it goes off without a hitch.
