Tacoma doesn't get many victories. So, when something big comes to the Tacoma Dome and Seattle and the rest of the state has to come here, it's a win for us. There is no more Kingdome, so "The Dome" finally does refer to our house. We've seen Lady Gaga, Brittany Spears, and now -- last night - the Watch the Throne Tour with Jay-Z and Kanye West.
For argument's sake I'll say Jay-Z and Kanye West are considered by many to be the biggest rappers alive. So what kind of tour and show could these two put together? Is it worth $20? $100? Absolutely nothing? Well, here's what I experienced.
The city was celebrating the arrival of the two behemoths. On my way to the show -- I shit you not - I heard people bumping Jay-Z with their windows down. Mind you it was dark, 6:30 p.m., and I was still on S 9th and M.L.K.
I arrived upon a sort of modern-day hip-hop side-show carnival. There were street-preachers, B-Boys, signature gatherers, the Save Our Sonics Guy, voter-registration booths and scalpers galore.
The ticket said the show started at 7:30 p.m. It did not. It started at 9:15 p.m. Who was the opening act, you ask? THERE WAS NONE. So I just drank $7 beers and walked around playing "Spot the Local-Rapper."
At long last the lights flashed and the show began. There were two stages and parts of the stages raised and lowered - at times the two rappers were a couple stories in the air. Behind the stage on big walls and on the platforms there were different projected images throughout the night. In the air, above the crowd, were lasers and smoke. Pyrotechnics shot big-ass fire balls from the stage up into the air and from the ceiling down toward the crowd. I could feel the heat from the flames reach my seat. A huge American Flag came down from the ceiling when "Otis" dropped.
Jay and Kanye went back and forth for two hours and 45 minutes. They never took a break. They barely took a breather. The two mixed their hits interchangeably throughout the set, and both stayed up there together often. In the end I felt truly entertained. The two showmen did deliver.