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Watch Kanye West Perform On A Flying Stage Suspended Above The Crowd

By Stephen Gossett in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 26, 2016 3:44PM

When Kanye West returns to Chicago to perform two dates in October for his Life of Pablo tour, concertgoers will probably have to do some neck craning to go along with their jaw dropping.

Never one to skimp on stagecraft, the Chicago (not Northbrook) native unveiled an absolutely bonkers live setup—even for him—at Thursday night’s tour kickoff in Indianapolis: a massive “flying” stage suspended directly above the crowd. At points, the stage even appears to dip out of balance, with one side lower than the other. But it looks like Kanye is secured with some kind of chain-harness rig to keep things safe. Good call, that one.

It was enough to give us Motley Crue flashbacks, in the best possible way.

New York Times music critic Jon Caramanica and West fashion guru Virgil Abloh were among those on hand to capture footage of the spectacle.

A video posted by @virgilabloh on


As for the music, it looks like West didn't disappoint there, either. As Pitchfork pointed out, the set featured plenty of Pablo cuts but also several older faves, including "Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1," "All Day" and "Can’t Tell Me Nothing."