On Thursday, Sept 8th, started the concert experience of a lifetime. A group of three friends and I rushed to Verizon Center in downtown DC right after school to see our all time favorite artist, Kanye West.

The lines for merchandise and food were expected to be filled up hours before the concert started, so we made sure we weren’t late. Luckily for us, they had merchandise lines outside the venue, and we arrived minutes after they set it up, so there was no line. The products were extremely overpriced, but with this once in a lifetime opportunity, we went all out with the merchandise.

After spending $100+ on Gildan t-shirts we, went up to our seats and waited for the show to begin. We had a good view of everything but there was only one problem; there was no stage in sight. The stage was not on an actual set, instead it was moving platform, held up in midair.

It was around 9:00 p.m., and still West was still nowhere to be found. We wondered if there was a delay or technical difficulties. Finally at 9:30, all the concert lights went out and a beat started playing, the show has begun.

West started it off with the first song on his album The Life of Pablo, Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1. He went on to play the majority of that album and threw it back to his debut album: The College Dropout.

The concert went on for about two hours, including speeches at the end of “Runaway” and “Only One.” He talked about the real meaning of his music, and how he wants his listeners to “feel” his music. He also went on about the death of loved ones and his visions of his passed away mother talking to God.

One of the highlights of the show was the creativity of the lights and stage, it was a piece of art. My personal favorite was when he played “Touch the Sky,” thats my favorite song of his.

This concert was truly an experience I’ll never forget and I believe that everyone should see Kanye West live at least once in their life.