Kanye West wow-ed the crowd, and later the internet, last night when he unveiled a stage that floated over the crowd at the opening leg of the Saint Pablo tour in Indianapolis. In an interview with E! News he spoke on the inspiration behind the stage concept, which took eight months to develop.
"I wanted people to get into and have a fun time," he said. "Make it not be just about watching the artist, but people watching their friends and singing along with the lyrics and just being able to see themselves, their outfits, being able to post something and take the concert experience to another level. It's not just about what you're seeing on the screen or what you're seeing me do... but about what you and your friends are doing. I want people to come to the Pablo shows and know it's just gonna be the best time they had in their life."
Kanye said there would be minor alterations over the course of the tour but the basic idea would remain a constant. "It was just about creating a new idea and touring," he explained. "I used to open up for Bono and I opened up for the Rolling Stones, and I would watch all these Michael Jackson tapes and Bob Fosse performances, Daft Punk, Radiohead, Trent Reznor. Ridley Scott was one of my big inspirations for this."
"This take on the future and the way it connects with music, I just feel that that's the vibe," he continued. "I'm super into design and staging and experiences, and this is an opportunity where they already expect a great show. And this is a feel where I can really stretch my hands like the song says... I can stretch out in this arena and give the crowd something they hadn't seen before."
Listen to the interview below.