Idolator’s Top 5 Moments From The Watch The Throne Concert At Staples Center

Becky Bain | December 12, 2011 11:27 am

We already knew that Jay-Z and Kanye West would be going H.A.M. when their Watch The Throne concert rolled into Staples Center last night, the first of three sold-out dates at the LA arena. But there’s plenty we didn’t expect and were absolutely thrilled by during the duo’s absolutely epic show. Besides the audience going bonkers before the festivities even began at the mere sight of preggo Beyonce walking onto the VIP platform, we counted five more exciting, ridiculous and wholly entertaining moments while watching The Throne. Check ’em out below!

TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM THE THRONE CONCERT AT STAPLES CENTER

5. Kanye Riffing About Love And Being An Asshole For 5 Minutes. Kanye, standing high atop a glowing red cube while bathed in blue light, delivered a double emotional whammy with “Runaway” and “Heartless”, but he didn’t perform the exact cuts you know from his albums — this was more a Director’s Extended Cut of each song. “If you love someone tonight, hold ’em tight”, Kanye kept repeating over and over and over (and over), aided by a healthy dose of Autotune. “If I told you I didn’t like the shoes you was wearing tonight, don’t listen to me because I’m an asshole, you’re always fine,” was another lengthy refrain that went on for several minutes past the song. Indulgent? Totally. But ‘Ye was digging deep, blaming all his failings of love on himself. Only Kanye could somehow make us feel sorry for him.

4. Kanye And Jay-Z Sitting. Okay, that doesn’t sound very exciting. But the MCs, who were moving and shaking and bouncing and running on stage surrounded by flames and atop giant cubes for about an hour, had a quiet moment sitting next to one other as though they were squatting on a stoop in Jay’s old Brooklyn neighborhood. Hova busted out “Hard Knock Life” and the duo beautifully performed their Throne tack “One Day” without ever getting up. They even provided a shout-out to all the dads out there who take care of their kids. Aww.

3. Kanye Demanding The Lights And The Crowd Do As He Says. When Kanye wants all the lights on, he wants ALL OF THE LIGHTS ON. West cut off his song twice demanding that his crew turn on all of the lights, and only after the second time they complied, nearly blinding the audience for five seconds with every single stage light glowing white. Then West stopped the song yet again after the “MJ gone” line. “When I say ‘MJ gone,’ I mean everybody is saying ‘Our n*gga dead,'” said Yeezy, assuring the crowd that everyone gets a pass for saying the N-word just this time. Oh, and lest you forget, he added with a smile, “This song was nominated for Song Of The Year… most nominations, what have you.” As if the show could go on without Kanye making mention of his numerous Grammy nominations!

2. “N*ggas In Paris” Was Performed SEVEN TIMES IN A ROW. After a two-and-a-half hour show, Kanye and Jay were not ready to go home, and neither was the sold-out crowd. Nearly everybody stayed for The Throne’s single performed seven times, which has become the duo’s shtick over the course of their tour. (We hear Chicago holds the record with nine “Paris” replays. Nine!) After the third round, the rappers invited everyone to rush the floor and get as close as possible to the stage. And believe you me, I was definitely one of those people running to the floor seats as the Staples Center turned into a club with an extremely repetitive playlist.

1. Kanye’s Outfit. Not a “moment”, per say, but my favorite part of the entire show. This is the main outfit Yeezy has been rocking on tour, and though I’ve seen photos of it before, I was not prepared for it in real life:

Are those… leather jeggings? And a leather skirt? My concert companion kept telling me “It’s a kilt!” but unless you’re in Scotland, let’s call a skirt a skirt. And you can’t tell by this photo, but Kanye’s kicks are outlined in glow-in-the-dark material. This is every man’s Halloween costume for 2012.

The Throne are playing Staples Center again tonight and Tuesday night. Let’s see if they can beat their record and play “N*ggas In Paris” at least ten times!