All of the Lights Shine on Kanye West at Summerfest
"Hark,who goes yonder? Well speak up man, what is it?"
"News from the East sire, Mike Kincaide has returned to Buzznews.net!!!!"
I absolutely un-apologetically love hip hop. Always have. Its in my blood. Coming from the rough neighborhood of Englewood on the southside of Chicago, r&b soul music is the soundtrack to life in that area. Growing up its hip hop which dominated the culture and way of life in the community. All your friends listened to it, hustlers sold bootleg t-shirts and tapes, gangsters dressed the part...family and friends lived by it. Happy or sad, tv or radio, it was everywhere.You couldnt avoid hip hop no matter how hard you tried.
With all that said I immediately had a strong connection to Kanye West, another southside guy who grew up in the same areas, listened to the same music and radio, and dealth with the same struggles I did. He had a strong connection with soul music, talked aout places I'd been and hung out at, had owned a very personable personality and affinity for my favorite rapper, Jay-Z...all which drew me to him. In time, while my love of Mr. West has gone back and forth because of his actions there has never been any doubt aout his talent. Continuously puts out quality if not outstanding music. He has begun to transend beyond the hiphop world which may have become his gift and his curse.
The one thing Kanye does really well is hip hop music. He can orchestrate a scene or project feeling and emotion through the artistry of his work, which is something alot of music artists can't even fathom. Because of this and the numerous opinions and attacks by the media and others Kanye has become very reclusive in his appearances,going so far as to even move out of the country. So with the rare chance to see Kanye's act live in person at Milwaukee's Summerfest, my decsison to see his show was a no brainer.
Again much different than a typical rap shows Kanye's stage set-up is more artistic. He doesnt have a dj and performs with ballet dancers. Opening act Kid Cudi was extremely energetic and had the crowd into his show albeit only for a brief time as he only played for about 25 minutes. Cudi performed with no ballet dancers but was easily a crowd favorite and all over Kanye's upcoming set.
After about an hour wait the booming and radiating sounds of "HAM" played over the speakers. West opened the show performing "Dark Fantasy", the opening from his latest album, from a pole in the audience. Kanye didnt just connect with the crowd he had them at his mercy all night long. Dressed in all black wearing old-school red and black AirJordans and an old school snakeskin Chicago Bulls hat, Kanye opened his show very strong with a ton of energy and confidence. Kanye wasted no time ripping into hit after hit and owning the crowd. And everything he gave the crowd gave right back. West rocked out with "Hell of a Life" and tore the house down with "Monster" before turning to Kid Cudi for some assistance.
Kanye did at one point get on his soapbox, which is fine, as he made up for it by again piling hit after energetic hit together, working the stage and sweating like a madman. Going over material from previous albums including a guest appearances (West really rocked his verse from his Katy Perry collabo "E.T.") Kanye showed his hand to the observant fan on where he got his ideas for creating the setlist and show. Listening to newer material made some songs performed from the first album sound dated. Its a trick however, his mentor Jay-Z has mastered and perfected at his shows. Jay-Z seems to pull it off effortlessly while West rocks them out like they are today's current big hits when there's a strong portion of the crowd who just werent fans back then. West also follows Jay-Z's stage manerisms to a tee, wether it be him running all over the stage, swinging his arm and hand gestures, commanding the crowd, not necessarry rapping for them. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, however West needs to find his own stage persona and presentation, which he is highly capable of.
Kanye doesnt finish as strong as he starts but the energy and list of hits keep the crowd into it. West re-creates a cool moment of the MTV debut of his big hit "Runaway", "All of the Lights" performed with Kid Cudi whips the crowd into a near frenzy, and then....splat. While I understand the significance of the song "Hey Mama", its use of a closer takes the life out of a great concert. Or maybe I'm just being insensitive. Anyway, Kanye's how isn' t much of a show, but more of a exciting presentation to loyal fans...complete with swan-like ballet dancers.
SET-LIST
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H.A.M intro
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Dark Fantasy
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Power
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Jesus Walks
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Can't Tell Me Nothing
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Diamonds From Sierra Leone
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Hell of a Life
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Monster
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Gorgeous
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Erase Me with Kid Cudi
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Make Her Say with Kid Cudi
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Flashing Lights
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Good Life
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Love Lockdown
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Say You Will
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Heartless
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Swagga Like Us (bit)
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Run This Town (bit)
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E.T. (bit)
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Homecoming
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Through the Wire
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All Falls Down
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Touch the Sky
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Gold Digger
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All of the Lights with Kid Cudi
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Stronger
- Runaway
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Lost in the World
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Hey Mama
Aktar Aktar on the right path
Aktar Aktar is four young men from Chicago who are exploring the boundaries of danceable rock music. They first released a self-titled album which pushed them out of the dingy dive bars where they found their original following. With a core group of high energy fans they had the privilege to play some of the greatest venues Chicago has to offer. Touring all throughout the Midwest at a feverish pace, recently headlining Chicago's legendary Metro last November, Aktar Aktar now brings their unique sound and high-energy stage show to Reggie’s Rock Club this Friday night, January 28th as the band battles for a spot in SXSW. In the meantime, they are also working on their next EP with high hopes of grabbing the attention of a manager/booking agent that will push their careers into deeper waters.
Having recently enjoyed the band’s music for the first time, I contacted bassist, Bradley Haptas, to find out more about the band.
Buzz - What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?
Bradley - I would say indie rock, but it’s really hard to try to categorize the music with one name. Every one of our songs has a life of its own and sometimes that means moving outside one genre and into another. We all have our own “loves” when it comes to influences; I would say right now that Motown is quickly stealing my heart.
Buzz - What can fans take home with them from your live show?
Bradley - Hopefully they buy a CD! You can really see our personalities come through in our live performance so people will get to know us a little better. You might wake up sore from all the dancing that goes on at our shows. We just want everyone to have a good time. We really enjoy bringing people together.
Buzz - When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?
Bradley - Aktar Aktar started about 3 years ago as a 2 piece with Jake Swearson and Jake hoefnagel. They were playing a lot of house parties and smaller bars when they started getting larger and larger crowds every show. I remember Swearson saying he wanted to have a fuller sound, that’s when Tim and I joined. We recently we got a new drummer, Mr. Wes Kosakowski, after Jake H’s departure. We all had the same idea of what we wanted to do musically and the more we did together and the better we became as musicians it just felt right. Now there’s no turning back.
Buzz - Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?
Bradley - We have played all over in Chicago from the Metro to Elbo Room. We did Summerfest in Milwaukee last summer, which was one hell of a time. I don’t know if I have a favorite or least favorite venue. They are just buildings with stages inside to me, what makes the show is the people and magic that happens inside. We are playing at Reggies Rock Club on Jan 28th, it’s a battle of the bands to get into SXSW. After that all we have lined up is time in the studio and hopefully we will be heading to Austin in March.
Buzz - Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? Do you think these topics will change over time?
Bradley - Jake and Wes have been building chord progressions and the basic outline of songs and then we all get together to finish them. I would say, if anything, freedom. Its so open ended we can really develop ideas from it. I’m sure it will change over time.
Buzz - How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?
Bradley - We are coming up with better concepts and ideas for our songs. When you have really good ideas you can really push yourself to see what’s behind all the doors. Every door you hit is a challenge you need to overcome, and by confronting these challenges, you evolve as musicians.
Buzz - How can fans-to-be gain access to your music?
Bradley - We have a Myspace, a Facebook, and our older music is on ITunes.
Buzz - Is there anyone you'd like to acknowledge for offering financial or emotional support?
Bradley - We would love some financial support! We would thank the shit out of 'em. All our families rule. They are always at our shows doing whatever they can to help. It’s really nice to have people around you that know your dream and will do anything it takes to achieve that dream.
Buzz - Do you have a record label? Are you a member of any music organizations?
Bradley - We do not have a record label or any musical affiliations. We have had companies offer us some things but nothing that we felt would be beneficial at the time. We are going to be pushing to build a team once we finish this new record.
The band is:
Jacob Swearson – guitar/vocals
Timmy Maguire – lead guitar/vocals
Bradley Haptas – bass
Jake Hoefnagel – drums
To find out more about Aktar Aktar visit www.myspace.com/aktaraktar or look for them on Facebook.
