After the months of hype and condemnation , online petitions and bravado promises , Kanye West took to the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury on Saturday night for his controversial headline slot. And quite frankly , it was nothing but a dire and appalling damp squib of a set.
I am a fan of Kanye's music , and was curious to see what he would bring to the famous Pyramid Stage. But apart from a self indulgent lighting rig and Canadian troubadour Bon Iver , what West brought was a borefest , an ego ten times the size of the entire Glastonbury site and all the warmth of a melted ice cube. It was horrendous.
Kanye played some of his biggest hits , but it was abundantly clear early on , that his headline slot was a missed opportunity , all smoke and lighting with no showmanship , warmth or connection ith the crowd.
The fact he ended the set by declaring himself " the greatest rockstar on the planet " wasa n insult to the many artists who would have stormed the Pyramid Stage with more skill and bombast than West would ever muster.
If the world's greatest rockstar is an outspoken , deluded egomaniac , married to a reality tv star , then we are in some dark times musicaly.
He murdered the classic Queen anthem Bohemian Rhapsody , whilst getting the words wrong. The only other thing of note throughout the set was an onstage invasion by unfunnyman Lee neson and Kanye taking to the sky in a cherry picker.
When Jay Z headlined Glastonbury , he was met with a deluge of criticism too. However , Jigga rose to the occasion and delivered a memorable set with class and humility. West , stood on stage , wrapped up in his own tedious Messiah complex , barely engaging with a crowd who were eager for him to deliver.
Michael Eavis should have asked for the money back. All the usual NME pandering and hipster musos blowing smoke up West's backside cant detract from the fact that this was one of the worst headline set's in Glastonbury's illustrious history. It should have been anything but , but it was painfully dull from a man who you would never put in the same breadth as the word dull.
The night before , Florence and the Machine stepped up to the plate to deliver a barnstorming Friday night set. as last minute replacement for the Foo Fighters after Dave Grohl broke his leg. Welch captivated the crowd with classics such as Shake It Out , Spectrum and Rabbit Heart. She was warm , energetic and exuding a quiet charisma.
Florence played a set spanning her three albums since 2009 , with the biggest response of the night for closing song Dog Days Are Over.
It was a triumphant night for Welch, some seven years after first playing the BBC's Introducing Stage.
The other big winner on Worthy Farm over the weekend was Lionel Richie , whose Sunday 'Legends' slot attracted the largest crowd of the weekend.
The Who reliably brought the curtain down on this years festival last night with a career spanning set.
It was also a triumphant weekend for Hozier , Paloma Faith, FKA Twigs , Years and Years , Alabama Shakes , Wolf Alice , Suede , Paul Weller and The Chemical Brothers.
As for next year , bookies are already speculating on Bowie and Coldplay headlining. After Kanye's performance , I'd be happy with Sinitta.
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