A giant globe, a stadium full of fans, and a catalogue built for mass singalongs: YE, formerly known as Kanye West, brought YE Live to Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on 24 October. An estimated 50,000 people attended the tour’s only Southeast Asian stop, which packed nearly two hours with songs spanning his career.
The production matched the scale of the occasion. Earth imagery moved across a huge dome, with lasers and fireworks extending the spectacle across the stadium. Wearing an oversized grey outfit and a full-head covering, YE kept the between-song conversation brief, directing attention towards the music and the world taking shape around him.
The set moved freely between eras. ‘Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1’ and ‘Can’t Tell Me Nothing’ appeared early, while ‘Black Skinhead’, ‘On Sight’, and ‘Blood on the Leaves’ brought a substantial stretch of Yeezus into the evening. Alongside ‘POWER’ and ‘Bound 2’, the selection traced the restless shifts in sound that have defined his discography, moving between abrasive electronics, soul samples, and hooks made for an audience of this size.
There was room for ‘BEAUTY AND THE BEAST’, ‘I CAN’T WAIT’, and ‘FATHER’, too, before the later run returned to ‘Jesus Walks’, ‘All Falls Down’, and ‘Through the Wire’. These earlier songs offered another side of his writing: personal, self-conscious, and full of the ambitions and anxieties that shaped his arrival in hip-hop.
‘Gold Digger’ and ‘Touch the Sky’ followed, with ‘Good Life’, ‘Flashing Lights’, ‘Homecoming’, and ‘Stronger’ giving Graduation a substantial presence. Together, those selections showed just how many directions YE’s music has travelled, while keeping familiar choruses within easy reach.
One of the evening’s most striking audience moments came during ‘Heartless’. As YE encouraged fans to repeat the chorus, thousands of voices carried it without instrumental backing. For a show with such elaborate production, the passage needed remarkably little: a familiar refrain and an audience ready to take over.
The closing sequence moved through ‘Ghost Town’ and ‘Moon’ before arriving at ‘Runaway’. YE disappeared into the globe and returned with a small piano, its familiar opening notes accompanied by fireworks and another crowd singalong. After an evening staged on a planetary scale, the finale rested on something much simpler: a melody the audience already knew by heart.
Like what you read? Show our writer some love!
-