Kanye West @ Acer Arena, 6th Dec 2008

It was inevitable. Kanye West's perfectionist tendencies have been well-documented, and at the close of Saturday nights two hour plus Sydney concert, we got them in spades. Ending the show with recent hit Love Lockdown, West stopped the song twice, the second time unleashing a verbal scalding on whoever was responsible for his missing wardrobe. Upon re-appearing for a third swing at it, Kanye put in all he could into what eventually became a 15 minute, tribal drum heavy curtain-call.
It was a strangely satisfying (kanye-esque?) ending to an amazing show. West threw himself into the performance all night, whipping the crowd into constant fits with songs both old and new, and also indulging personal faves such as his turns on remixes for Young Jeezy and Estelle. West's back catalogue is becoming fuller, enabling him to draw from a deeper well of emotions and push that to the crowd with success. From the drama of 'Put on' and 'Amazing' to the triumphant bells and whistles of 'Touch the Sky' and 'Good Life', Kanye seemed to have all bases covered. And although the show featured little of the 'Glow in the dark' theatric's of the american shows, The explosive video visuals and West's larger than large persona more than made up for it.
It would be remiss of me to not also mention the 15 minute freestyle that cast a large shadow over the mid-section of the show. West took the opportunity to fire up the auto-tune and croon about everything from the paparazzi to more bizzarely the life and times of Britney Spears. At once both head-shakingly weird and endearingy earnest, it showed West's desire to not only put on a great show, but also an honest one, and you can't doubt that he did that. I feel a bit sheepish now that my cynicism did not allow to believe that the freestyle hadn't been rehearsed, until I saw footage of a completely different freestyle from the following nights show in Melbourne. Should I have doubted the man that 'spits his soul through the wire'? No, and for that, I thank you Mr West.