Does it really come as a major surprise to any of you that Kanye West started controversy at Bonnaroo? Do you not remember the Entertainment Weekly B+ incident? What about when he was “shafted” at the MTV Europe Music Awards? It should come as no surprise to anyone that West would request to a shift in his set time from 8:15 pm to 2:45 am (coincidentally when the headliners were all off the stage.)

Apparently, West wanted to show off his Glow in the Dark Tour to the masses in full force. However, I didn’t buy for a second that it had anything to do with the timing of the sunset. Bonnaroo listed his original set time as 8:15. That means he probably would not have been into the climactic portions of the show until close to 9:00. Where the hell is it not dark at 9:00?

After West kicked off his performance over two hours late, the backlash started. West’s and Bonnaroo’s Public Relations people did a great job with the press. In defense of his actions, a story emerged detailing how Pearl Jam’s extensive set that lasted close to an extra sixty minutes, caused such a delay that there was no way for West’s crew to get the stage ready for the scheduled 2:45 performance time. This was obviously a PR move. When West was originally performing at 8:15, there was a one hour gap open for him to set up on the Which Stage. As already discussed, we know that the schedule was not reorganized to give Kanye West more time to set up, but rather so he could perform in the dark of night. It follows that one hour should be all the time he needed to set up on the What Stage. Thus, the fact that Pearl Jam went over by an hour should not have affected his preparation at all. This is particularly the case if Pearl Jam finished at 1:15 (or even 1:30), because West would still have over an hour to get on for his 2:45 performance time.

The schedule listed West’s performance as a two hour duration. Therefore, one would think that if he kept his 8:15 set, it would certainly be dark for the majority of the performance (not to mention that he would be on stage for the sunset – which is generally a coveted spot.) As we all know by now, West did not get on the stage until close to 5:00 in the morning when the sun was already rising. As a result, most of his set was in the light and West stopped after an hour. Was this because it was not yet dark? Well, we will never know, but it is safe to say that if he stuck to the original plan, he certainly would have had more time to show off his glow in the dark outfits.

If it was really Pearl Jam’s fault and West did not have the sufficient time to get his stage in shape for his glowtastic performance, he would have known early. Thus, the Bonnaroo organizers could have given the fans a better indication as to when West would be on stage, as opposed to delaying it at first, before putting it off on hold. Further, West was obviously just sitting around, waiting for his crew to construct his spaceship and prepare it for launch. (His set seems more complicated to ready than some NASA missions.) Thus, he had ample opportunity to come out to make a super special appearance with either of his former collaborators, Lupe Fiasco or Talib Kweli.

Then again, Kanye was responsible for one of the best performances at Bonnaroo. Actually, from what I’ve heard, he was behind two of them. West produced some of Kweli’s best songs (including his most well-known track, “Get By.”) Most Lupe Fiasco fans know how West helped boost his career. Apparently, Fiasco put on a stunning performance just before Kweli took over the microphone and absolutely killed it.

Late Saturday night, I witnessed something that you all might find intriguing. As I left my final show of the night (Chali 2na with Galactic) and headed home, I was moving extremely slow. My body was sore and I was half-asleep. A group of four or five guys passed me. They did not look like kids who had been at Bonnaroo for three days. Instead, they appeared to be clean and were wearing matching clothes, including black denim shorts and black t-shirts. They were walking at a quick pace, so I figured that they must be 2na’s boys, hustling to catch the end of Kanye West’s set. I did not think much of these kids until about ten minutes later when I heard Kanye’s set begin.

Was this Kanye’s crew watching to see when the last artist finished, before hustling over to the main stage area to signal that it was time for him to begin (without any competition)? Of course, I have no idea. These could have been some random guys hanging out at Bonnaroo. However, I certainly did not see many groups of African Americans during my time in Tennessee and I did not see anyone this clean (including the musicians) at Bonnaroo. Why would they not use walkie-talkies? Well, the way that Bonnaroo works is that there are specific channels for each zone. If the staff members tried to communicate from one zone to another, the lines would cross and no one would be able to hear each other. The Other Tent (where 2na performed) is literally on the other side of the festival grounds from What Stage (the main stage). Thus, to communicate backstage, one would at least have to walk over to the proper zone.

It is a shame that after all of this backlash, West may not comp many reviewing his 2008 Bonnaroo show. Then again, I don’t think he’ll be invited back anytime soon either. (Did I mention that he was the only artist at Bonnaroo with full restrictions on photography and video?)

“Kanye Hates Hippies” via KP!’s flickr photostream…

TAGGED AS: Bonnaroo Music Festival, CoS at Bonnaroo, Kanye West