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The Yeezus Tour

World tour by Kanye West
Associated album	Yeezus
Start date	October 19, 2013 (2013-10-19)
End date	September 15, 2014 (2014-09-15)
Legs	3
No. of shows	45
Box office	$31.8 million
Kanye West concert chronology
Watch the Throne Tour (2011–12) The Yeezus Tour (2013–14) Saint Pablo Tour (2016)

The Yeezus Tour was the fifth concert tour by American rapper Kanye West, in support of his sixth studio album, Yeezus (2013). Announced with a promotional poster in September 2013, it served as West's first solo concert tour since the Glow in the Dark Tour (2007–08). West shared the opening North American dates that same month and in January 2014, he revealed an additional stint across the continent. The rapper announced legs across Europe and Australia for 2014, although the European dates were cancelled. The tour was intended to combine staging, production, and West's aesthetic to showcase his creativity. Kendrick Lamar, A Tribe Called Quest, Travis Scott, and Pusha T served as opening acts on select dates.

The tour began in Seattle on October 19, 2013, travelling across the United States, as well as to Canada and Australia, until the last show in Brisbane on September 15, 2014. Due to West's equipment becoming damaged after an accident with his tour truck in October 2013, numerous tour dates in the US were cancelled and others re-scheduled to later dates. West split his concerts into the five different themes of "Fighting", "Rising", "Falling", "Searching", and "Finding", which were introduced with elements from the Bible. The Yeezus Tour received rave reviews from critics, who highlighted West's creativity. It had the second highest grossing leg of a tour in 2013, behind Paul McCartney's Out There! Tour. It was the highest-grossing hip-hop tour of 2013, at $31.8 million from 33 shows.

Background

In June 2013, West's sixth studio album Yeezus was released to commercial success, reaching number one in 31 countries. Co-producer Mike Dean subsequently confirmed that a tour would be held for the album with him as a backing performer. On September 6, 2013, West announced The Yeezus Tour by tweeting "TOUR" along with a promotional poster showing the album's title and him dangling backwards with his arms. West shared 23 dates and the accompaniment of an opening act from fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar, who was scheduled for all but five dates that had a "special guest" set instead. Tickets went on sale the week after West's announcement and tour dates ran from October 19–December 7, 2013, venturing across the United States and also visiting Canada; the opening city of Seattle was where he also first performed for the Glow in the Dark Tour in 2007. Later in September, West announced an additional six dates across North America. A press release said that the tour will combine "state-of-the-art staging, production, and lighting design with his unmatched aesthetic", creative mind, and decade-long discography of singles. It stood as West's first solo tour since his Glow in the Dark Tour five years prior; he did not tour for his fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy due to a lack of sponsorship in 2010. West had previously performed tracks from Yeezus live for television shows, including "Black Skinhead" on Saturday Night Live and "Blood on the Leaves" at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.

For the tour's show at Las Vegas' Grand Garden Arena on October 25, 2013, rapper Pusha T served as the opening act. A Tribe Called Quest opened the concerts in New York at the Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden on November 20 and 24, respectively, marking the group's first shows since California in August. They insisted on doing these final two concerts in their home city, although later performed together again for a 2017 tour that ended at the English festival Bestival. On October 30, 2013, West's tour truck was involved in an accident on the way to a concert in Vancouver. The vehicle carried custom-made video screens and equipment, which was damaged beyond repair and this caused the show's cancellation since it was central to the staging. West also cancelled tour dates in Denver, Columbus, Montreal, Minneapolis, and St. Louis, with Def Jam citing "routing logistics". Shows in Chicago, Toronto, and Detroit were rescheduled to later dates; the tour leg was set to run until December 23, 2013. The tour resumed at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on November 6, 2013. At a show in New York on November 20, West revealed that filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky's 1973 cult film The Holy Mountain was an inspiration for The Yeezus Tour. The influences included mountain imagery, face masks, and characters portraying Jesus. West and Jodorowsky met each other in June 2014; he was taken aback by the rapper's pureness and deep desire to craft "a work that develops the consciousness of young people".

On January 7, 2014, West revealed nine dates for The Yeezus Tour across the US East Coast and Canada from February 13–23. Live Nation Entertainment held a credit card-sponsored presale the following day and tickets went on sale on January 10, while a press release said the leg would be the last chance for North Americans to see the rapper's "creative concept". On February 17, 2014, Live Nation announced tour dates across Australia from May 2–10. The leg featured Pusha T as an opening act and marked West's first appearance in the country since the 2012 Big Day Out festival. On March 25, 2014, West announced a European tour leg that included the likes of Germany, Norway, and the United Kingdom from June 21–July 6. A German promoter reported three days later that the European dates had been cancelled, citing "production problems". On April 1, 2014, Live Nation issued a statement that West postponed the Australian leg until September. The statement cited "unexpected timing requirements" for working on his seventh album that was initially slated for release in 2014, although it was eventually released as The Life of Pablo in 2016. The performances in Australia had a significantly more minimal visual production, compared to the previous shows.

Stage and equipment

West said that the initial idea of The Yeezus Tour came from him thinking about the end of the world, which influenced explosions, fire, mountains, masked beings and Christian symbolism as prominent imagery during the show. Fashion was an important element of the tour's visual identity. Family New York, Vanessa Beecroft, Es Devlin and John McGuire created the scenography. The stage used during the tour heavily resembled a fashion catwalk. Maison Martin Margiela and West worked together to create fashion pieces and outfits for the tour. Another influence for the stage setup, according to West, came from the 1973 film The Holy Mountain, a "biblical redemption story". This can be seen with one of the stages main features; a 50-foot high mountain, called Mount Yeezus by some, that could change its appearance into that of a volcano. The foot of the mountain then lead to a secondary stage that elevated up to the pointed main stage, which was also motorized. Above the mountain, a 60-foot wide circular LED screen was placed along with a custom sound system by DONDA.

Concert synopsis

The Yeezus Tour is split into five different themes; "Fighting", "Rising", "Falling", "Searching", and "Finding". Each theme's name is projected in white block letters on the LED screen in front of the mountain peak, being introduced over the arena speakers as passages and symbolism from the Bible are utilized. West goes against his glass ceiling as he opens with Fighting, ordering Def Jam to give him $50 million as he performs "New Slaves" and "Mercy". Rising is based on the rapper's rise to fame, power, greatness, and his destiny, relishing in his triumph. West alludes to Malcolm X and M.O.P. during "Power" and "Cold", while he shouts atop a rising mountain peak for "I Am a God". The dark moment in Kanye's life of his mother Donda West's death is marked by Falling, where a regretful snowfall comes down during "Coldest Winter". Kanye West also fights inner demons that he faces as a result of his behaviour, using his celebrity status to hide the fight as he is stalked by a red-eyed demon during "Hold My Liquor" and "Heartless". A hell–like setting appears for "Blood on the Leaves", depicted by bursts of fire and throbbing red projections. West engages in self-reflection as he re-evaluates his place in the world for Searching, introduced by the narrator's promise that "If you seek him, you shall find".

West wears four different face masks for the concert themes, as designed by Belgian fashion designer Martin Margiela and they represent various aspects of his life. The rapper utilizes a bejeweled luchador brown mask with a graffiti style for Fighting, featuring a patchwork of beading, decorative borders, and polished metals. He follows with a black mask during Rising, featuring shining studs of this color. West also wears a black mask for Falling, covered by square white tiles. The rapper has a mirror mask for Searching, reflecting any brightness in front of him similarly to a disco ball. A character named White Jesus that portrays Jesus appears and removes West's mirror mask while he is kneeling during Finding, revealing the rapper's face for the first time and symbolizing him meeting Jesus as Yeezus. The character gives his blessings to West, who then performs "Jesus Walks" and declares after "All of the Lights" that "Don't nobody look stupider than me". For the closing number "Bound 2", West and a dozen robe dancers fall to their knees next to White Jesus atop the mountain as the character delivers a sermon.

Reception

The tour was met with rave reviews from critics. Rolling Stone described it as "crazily entertaining, hugely ambitious, emotionally affecting (really!) and, most importantly, totally bonkers." Writing for Forbes, Zack O'Malley Greenburg praised West for "taking risks that few pop stars, if any, are willing to take in today's hyper-exposed world of pop", describing the show as "overwrought and uncomfortable at times, but excels at challenging norms and provoking thought in a way that just isn’t common for mainstream musical acts of late." NY Daily News wrote that "the show wasn’t about crowd-pleasing. It was about unyielding beats, hellish textures and a brusque flow, all delivered with an impact every bit as stunning as West's ego itself." In 2019, Vivid Seats named it the 68th greatest tour of all time.

Set list

The tour told a story of redemption through 5 stages. West performed every track from Yeezus, along with some songs from his previous records.

Fighting

1. "On Sight"
2. "New Slaves"
3. "Send It Up"
4. "Mercy"

Rising

1. "Power"
2. "Cold"
3. "I Don't Like"
4. "Clique"
5. "Black Skinhead"
6. "I Am a God"
7. "Can't Tell Me Nothing (Remix)"
8. "Coldest Winter"

Falling

1. "Hold My Liquor"
2. "I'm In It"
3. "Guilt Trip"
4. "Heartless"
5. "Blood on the Leaves"

Searching

1. "Lost in the World"
2. "Runaway"
3. "Street Lights"

Finding

1. "Stronger"
2. "Through the Wire"
3. "Jesus Walks"
4. "Diamonds From Sierra Leone"
5. "Flashing Lights"
6. "All of the Lights"
7. "Good Life"
8. "Bound 2"

The tour featured the unreleased track - "I Am Not Home", which was used as an opener for the sets, along with part of Mozart’s Lacrimosa.

Shows

Members

The following individuals were involved with the production:

• Mike Dean
• Noah Goldstein
• Che Pope
• Renelou Padora
• Don C
• Elon Rutberg
• Ibn Jasper
• Virgil Abloh
• Vanessa Beecroft
• Yemi A.D.
• Izvor Zivkovic
• Matthew Williams
• Alex Rosenberg
• Jerry Lorenzo
• Tracey Mills
• Dan Gieckel
• Mano (tour Dj)
• Ricky Anderson
• Sakiya Sandifer
• Justin Saunders
• Pascal Duvier

Film

In February 2014, West uploaded a trailer of a film connected with the tour to his website. In October 2023, Hype Williams in an interview with Complex explained why the film was never released:

So we decided we're gonna do a partnership. His job was to clear everything and then get it a distributor. My job was to shoot it. So we went and shot it. And it's based on the tour. We shot in two cities, Chicago and Toronto. And then a dress rehearsal where we were allowed to film the entirety of the concert, but with no people in the stadium. So I was literally able to shoot the details and close-ups of every costume and of every part of the show as if it was a video. I had free rein to do it, and we filmed all these things and it kind of got lost in what he was meant to do in terms of the agreement. I had to deliver the film, and he had to deliver some things that fell by the wayside. So by the time we got together, he already did The Life of Pablo. And he was like, “Yo, let’s just make this part of Life of Pablo.” So then we went and shot an additional bunch of stuff, which was the “Highlights” video. We shot a “Waves” video. We shot in Scotland. All over Iceland.

Scooter Braun and I spent six months with IMAX to release it, and when it came to the signing of it, that’s exactly when all that shit happened with Kim in Paris, and he got lost in himself and the whole thing fell to the wayside again. So no one, even Kanye, has seen Yeezus. We shot it in 2014 by the way. This is like us having like The Rolling Stones concert or some shit, or like The Beatles’ A Hard Day's Night. Like, that’s the level of movie Yeezus is, and no one has even seen it. So it may come back in a big way because that Kanye doesn’t exist anymore. So it’s historic. And by the way, it's flawless. Like, this Yeezus movie is mind-blowing like. It’s like some Pink Floyd shit. I'm lucky he allowed me to just do it. Me, him, and Drake was onstage together in Toronto for that show. It was 2014. So it'll come up in some capacity, but now it's really rock ‘n’ roll history.

References

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• Kanye West concert tours
• 2013 concert tours
• 2014 concert tours
• Concert tours of the United States
• Concert tours of Canada
• Concert tours of Australia