Kayne West will tell you he’s great at a lot of things, case but even he would admit that keeping a low profile isn’t one of them. The latest Kanye incident to create a storm of controversy is the recent postponement and cancellation of several Yeesus tour dates.
Through his record label, link Kanye put out a statement on October 20th saying a truck carrying a 60ft circular LED light display and a custom-made video truss (whatever that is) had crashed on the way to the Vancouver show, damaging the equipment. The statement went on to say:
This gear is central to the staging of The Yeezus Tour, and central to the creative vision put forth by Kanye West and his design team at DONDA. As a result of this event, it is impossible to put on the show and The Yeezus Tour will be postponed until these essential pieces can be reengineered and refabricated. Kanye West will not compromise on bringing the show, as it was originally envisioned and designed, to his fans. The Vancouver, Denver and Minneapolis dates have been postponed.
West ended up cancelling the Vancouver date, as well as several others. The tour is set to finally resume tomorrow (November 16th) in Philadelphia.
Ticketholders and naysayers alike have been quick to criticize Kanye’s decision to cancel these shows. They point to it as another example of Kanye’s gigantic ego coming between him and his audience. Some fans were especially caustic, with one not-too eloquently calling for his head on Twitter. Others have bemoaned the fact that West himself never made any type of public apology.
It wouldn’t have been a bad move to Tweet a quick “sorry about that”, and I can understand fans being bummed about losing money on travel costs, vacation time, etc. However, Kanye’s decision to cancel or postpone these tour dates is the right choice. In fact, he can go ahead and cancel the entire tour if the only other option is providing fans a cut-rate experience.
As hinted in the statement, West and his production team have spent months pouring over every detail of the tour and how it is presented. If I’m paying nearly $200 a ticket, I want the complete experience. I want to be overwhelmed by the spectacle, and not leave the building wondering what the show should have, or could have looked like.
It is likely that West’s reputation has earned him much of the vitriol surrounding these cancellations. Kanye’s flaws have made him one of the most polarizing figures in American culture, and because of this, we feel the need to comment on (and often criticize) his every move. When a less controversial artist does the exact same thing, we normally hear a collective groan from ticketholders, and not much else.On October 11th, Live Nation announced that Justin Timberlake would be postponing three November shows, including one at TD Garden. The reason? “To accommodate extended rehearsals due to a delay in the massive one-of-a-kind stage production”. Did this make national news? Not really. Did critics go out of their way to ridicule the decision and the artist behind it? Not at all.
The postponements have certainly angered some fans, and have likely cost West millions in ticket refunds, but in the end, it’s an example of an artist showing extreme dedication to his craft – and you can’t fault him for that.