Reporting from New York — The first indication came from a friend around 11 p.m. Kanye West would be playing a pop-up show somewhere in New York later in the night; would I know where it is?
I didn’t. The expected online news sources had no information, and the few music-industry folks I was acquainted with either would have no idea or had already nodded off to “Game of Thrones.”
I decided to do what any good 21st century journalist might do. I checked 2 Chainz’s Twitter account.
The artist formerly known as Tity Boi, after all, has been a veritable hot springs of Ye information. Surely he could succeed where Reuters would fail.
Nothing. Was this show really happening?
A few minutes later, some online rumors had started. One had pinpointed the concert at Webster Hall, a makeup engagement of sorts for West’s Governors Ball gig washing out earlier in the day, as well as a follow-up to his surprise appearance at Hot 97’s Summer Jam in New Jersey earlier. It was all, per West’s creative director Virgil Abloh, apparently going down at 2 a.m., when he’d perform his most recent release, “The Life of Pablo.”
I should pause at this point to say I’m not the world’s most versed Kanye fan. I know the hits, essentially, and I follow the spectacle and social-media jaw-droppers with the same mixture of fascination and eye-rolling ennui as most of us. This concert would not be a musical make-or-break for me, though it would be of some cultural-studies interest. Also, it was taking place three blocks from my apartment.
As I was walking back from the grocery store a little later, I noticed several people sprinting up what late on a Sunday night would normally be a desolate 2nd Avenue and turn the corner onto 11th street toward Webster Hall.
A moment later, another group of people sprinted past. Then another. From their demeanor and attire, which leaned toward scraggly red facial hair and Birkenstocks, one might have guessed a Phish pop-up show was in the area. But no, one portly fellow said as he huffed past, it was Kanye.
I clicked on 2 Chainz’s Twitter page on my phone. It was indeed happening at 2 a.m. at Webster Hall. The Chainz had spoken. I deposited the groceries upstairs and headed over.
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Kim Kardashian walks inside Armenian St. James Cathedral in Jerusalem with husband Kanye West, their daughter, North, and sister Khloe Kardashian.
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The celebrity couple baptized 22-month-old daughter North at a 12th century Armenian Apostolic church in Jerusalem.
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Kim Kardashian holds daughter North in her arms as she and Kanye West walk close to the Geghard Monastery in Armenia.
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West visit the genocide memorial, which commemorates the 1915 mass killing of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, in Yerevan, Armenia.
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The fashion-forward couple attends the fall-winter 2015-16 ready-to-wear collection by Vuitton during Paris Fashion Week.
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The couple attends the Balenciaga show as part of Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2015/2016 on March 6, 2015. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
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The rapper makes a face at photographers as the couple sits in the front row at Givenchy’s ready-to-wear collection collection during Paris Fashion Week.
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Jared Leto, who also debuted platinum blond hair the same day as Kardashian, Lewis Hamilton, Kanye West, designer Olivier Rousteing, and Kim Kardashian attend the Balmain aftershow dinner on March 5, 2015. (Jacopo Raule / Getty Images For Balmain)
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Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, friends of designer Alber Elbaz, attend the Lanvin show during Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2015/2016 on March 5, 2015, in Paris. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
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Kardashian debuts her platinum blond dye job at the Balmain show in Paris on March 5, 2015. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
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Kardashian, West and her mother Kris Jenner attend the Balmain show in Paris on March 5, 2015. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
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Singer Beyonce, Kardashian, her daughter North and Vogue editor Anna Wintour attend West’s Adidas Originals x Kanye West “Yeezy Season 1” fashion show during New York Fashion Week Fall 2015 on Feb. 12, 2015.
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Kardashian and West pose with formidable Vogue editor and friend Anna Wintour, center, at the Adidas Originals x Kanye West fashion show on Feb. 12, 2015. (Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for adidas)
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Kardashian and West are interviewed at the 57th Grammy Awards after party on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015, in Los Angeles, during which West went on a tirade about Grammy-winner Beck and why he nearly interrupted his album of the year acceptance speech. (Colin Young-Wolff / AP)
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Kanye West smooches wife Kim Kardashian on the red carpet at the 57th Grammy Awards at Staples in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2015. He wears Balmain, she wears Jean Paul Gaultier. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Kanye West and Kim Kardashian arrive at the Roc Nation Pre-Grammy brunch on Feb. 7, 2015, in Beverly Hills. (Valerie Macon / Getty Images)
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Grammy nominee Kanye West poses with wife Kim Kardashian, fellow nominees Beyonce and John Legend and Legend’s wife, model Chrissy Teigen, at the 57th Grammy Awards. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images for NARAS)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, both wearing Balmain, arrive on the red carpet at the BET Honors 2015 where the rapper received the Visionary Award. (Kevin Wolf / Invision / Associated Press)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the 2014 LACMA Art + Film gala in Los Angeles. Kim Kardashian is wearing a Cushnie et Ochs gown and a Cartier choker. (Jason Merritt / Getty Images for LACMA)
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Rapper Kanye West and his wife, Kim Kardashian, attend the 2014 LACMA Art + Film Gala honoring artist Barbara Kruger and director Quentin Tarantino on Nov. 1, 2014, in Los Angeles. (Valerie Macon / AFP / Getty Images)
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The couple watch the Los Angeles Lakers play the Houston Rockets at Staples Center. The Rockets won, 108-90. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, photographed separately, arrive at the Tao Nightclub at the Venetian Las Vegas to celebrate his Kardashian’s 34th birthday. (David Becker / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian, cradling daughter North, Kanye West and pianist Helene Mercier, wife of LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, sit in the front row at the Givenchy show in Paris. It was the second time the couple had brought their daughter to a show at the spring/summer 2015 womenswear presentations. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West arrive at the presentation of Lanvin’s spring/summer 2015 ready-to-wear fashion collection at Paris Fashion Week. (Jacques Brinon / AP)
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The couple attends the Lanvin show during Paris Fashion Week. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
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In Paris for Fashion Week. (Zacharie Scheurer / AP)
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The couple returns to Paris after wrapping West’s “Yeezus” tour in Australia to take in Paris Fashion week. Here, they arrive at the Balmain spring/summer 2015 ready-to-wear presentation in Paris just after Kim was jostled in a crowd and nearly took a tumble as she exited her car. (Zacharie Scheurer / AP)
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The couple attends the British GQ Men of the Year awards at the Royal Opera House on Sept. 2 in London. The reality star was named the magazine’s woman of the year and appeared in a nude photo spread for the magazine’s October issue. (Anthony Harvey / Getty Images)
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Kardashian West, in a Ralph & Russo gown, walks the red carpet with her husband at the British GQ Men of the Year Awards in London. “It’s Kim Kardashian West,” she said when she accepted her award. “I want to thank GQ for making me Woman of the Year, and my husband for making me feel like woman of the year every day.” (Anthony Harvey / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West spend some time shopping in Paris the Wednesday before their May 24 wedding. (Jacques Brinon / Associated Press)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West leave their residence in Paris on May 23, on the afternoon of the day before their wedding. (Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP / Getty Images)
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Kanye West appears to drop a hint to the crowd as he, Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner, left, leave the George V hotel in Paris with baby North West on their way to Valentino’s castle for brunch. (Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the “Charles James: Beyond Fashion” Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2014 in New York City. (Neilson Barnard / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian wears a Lanvin gown to the 2014 Met Gala, which she attended with fiance Kanye West. (Neilson Barnard / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian, left, and Kanye West attend the Hollywood Reporter’s celebration of power 100 women in entertainment breakfast on Dec. 11, 2013, in Beverly Hills. (Todd Williamson / Invision / Associated Press)
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Kanye West and Kim Kardashian attend DuJour Magazine’s event to honor artist Marc Quinn at Delano Beach Club on Dec. 4, 2013, in Miami Beach. (John Parra / Getty Images)
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The engaged couple attend DuJour Magazine’s event to honor artist Marc Quinn at Delano Beach Club on Dec. 4, 2013, in Miami Beach. (Eugene Gologursky / Getty Images for DuJour Magazine)
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The rapper and television personality arrive at the Tao Nightclub at the Venetian Las Vegas to celebrate Kim Kardashian’s 33rd birthday on Oct. 26, 2013. It was one of the couple’s first public appearances since their engagement. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
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The “Yeezus” rapper popped the question to the reality star on Oct. 21, 2013 -- her 33rd birthday -- at AT&T Park in San Francisco with the help of a 50-piece orchestra, family, friends and a glowing 15-carat diamond engagement ring. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
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Musician Kanye West and girlfriend Kim Kardashian at the Givenchy 2014 spring-summer ready-to-wear collection fashion show on Sept. 29, 2013, in Paris. (Pierre Andrieu / AFP / Getty Images)
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Actresses Noomi Rapace, Lily Collins, singer Ciara, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian attend the Givenchy show during Paris Fashion Week. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian, in her custom-designed Givenchy by Ricardo Tisci gown, and Kanye West at the Givenchy show. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
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“Yeezus” rapper Kanye West and reality TV star Kim Kardashian attend the Costume Institute Gala for the “PUNK: Chaos to Couture” exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2013. (Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the Costume Institute Gala for the “PUNK: Chaos to Couture” exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2013, in New York City. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend Givenchy fall 2013 ready-to-wear show during Paris Fashion Week on March 3, 2013. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the NBA game between the Clippers and the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center on Christmas Day 2012. Kardashian’s brother-in-law Lamar Odom played for the Clippers. (Victor Decolongon / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the NBA game between the Clippers and the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center on Dec. 25, 2012. (Victor Decolongon / Getty Images)
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Singer Kanye West, left, talks to his girlfriend Kim Kardashian before an NBA basketball game between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks in Miami. (Alan Diaz / Associated Press)
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Singer Kanye West and girlfriend Kim Kardashian attend a benefit in New York. (Evan Agostini / Associated Press)
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TV personality Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West attend the Louise Goldin spring 2013 show at Milk Studios on Sept. 12, 2012, in New York. (Michael Loccisano / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West attend the Marchesa spring 2013 fashion show during New York Fashion Week on Sept. 12, 2012. (Chelsea Lauren / Getty Images)
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Actress Sarah Hyland, left, model Tyra Banks, television personality Kim Kardashian, rapper Kanye West, actress Stacy Keibler and television personality Olivia Palermo attend the Marchesa show during New York Fashion Week on Sept. 12, 2012. (Chelsea Lauren / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West leave the Valentino haute-couture show during Paris Fashion Week at Hotel Salomon de Rothschild on July 4, 2012. (Julien M. Hekimian / Getty Images)
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Singer Beyonce, rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West and television personality Kim Kardashian attend the 2012 BET Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on July 1, 2012, in Los Angeles. (Christopher Polk / Getty Images For BET)
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Kanye West and Kim Kardashian at the 2012 BET Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. (Christopher Polk / Getty Images)
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Reality TV star Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West attend the 2012 BET Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on July 1, 2012, in Los Angeles. (Christopher Polk / Getty Images For BET)
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Singer Kanye West and his girlfriend, Kim Kardashian, arrive for the screening of “Cruel Summer” at the Cannes Film Festival on May 23, 2012. (Francois Mori / Associated Press)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the Lakers-Denver Nuggets game on May 12, 2012, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. (Noel Vasquez / Getty Images)
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West talk in their courtside seats before the Lakers take on the Denver Nuggets on May 12, 2012, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. (Noel Vasquez / Getty Images)
As I entered the block where the venue was located, long lines had already begun to form, stretching toward and around the corner. Though boisterous, the vibe was, for the most part, still good-spirited. (The crowd was also by my estimation about 90% white, a function of the broad popularity of Kanye but perhaps even more of the nature of Manhattan below 96th Street these days.)
My friend was on the line about halfway down, engaging some new friends in a Prince singalong. Those attempting to chat-and-cut their way onto the line were good-naturedly jeered away.
But there were some troubling signs too. There seemed to be, the very occasional bouncer aside, a notable absence of any Webster Hall security and barely any kind of police presence, just a patrol car at the end of the block. This was either going to be the world’s most remarkable example of self-governance or it would get messy.
After combing the front and back of the line looking for someone official to speak to about the show, I concluded that such a person, much like restraint in a Kanye tweet, was nowhere to be found. I sidled up to my Prince-trilling friend and stood with her posse. (Desperate times call for Larry David-like measures.)
The next half hour or so was reasonable. Some pushing and crowd surges, and one slightly scary moment against a parked car, but nothing too grim. That changed, however, when a truck was allowed to back into a garage of a large post office next door. For some reason, that caused the crowd to spill into the street and swell forward. A period of soccer-riot madness then ensued.
Bodies and limbs were pressed up from all sides. I looked behind me and could see nothing but heads and torsos rushing forward. Ahead of me, in the tangle of extremities, people were moving forward, slightly. If they stopped, there was nowhere to go, and certainly no turning back the hundreds of people behind. Any actual space was nonexistent. Oxygen wasn’t in long supply. Thoughts of becoming a statistic, on the other hand, abounded.
At that point I’d lost sight of my friend. Just to my left, however, a trio of young and rather slightly built women were in danger of being completely trampled by the crowd. My own survival wasn’t any more assured. Uncomfortable was one thing, dangerous was another. Also, of all the ways to go, “waiting for a Kanye show that will likely not happen” wasn’t terribly high on the list.
I could see a sliver of daylight to the side, at the far sidewalk. It was like trying to swim sideways against an onrushing ocean wave, only with more sweat and yelling, but I eventually fought my way through to (relative) safety.
I made my way down the block and away from the crowd. My friend texted; she had escaped too and was coming to find me. Soon there were effectively two circles – the mad crush in the middle, and others, those who had something to live for, on the perimeter. Those in the latter group chatted among ourselves – a lot of “Are You OK?” and “This is insane.” At one point we saw a woman being carried by three people to an ambulance that had just arrived on said perimeter.
The former group, meanwhile, got more unruly. People climbed atop dumpsters, trucks, the occasional fire escape or building facade. My phone-snapping couldn’t fully capture the dangerous frenzy, but those overhead shots, if you saw them, might do the trick. I noticed the half-dozen cops just leaning against patrol cars. Clearly they had been told not to get involved. Understandable, but I wasn’t convinced those instructions were such a good thing in this case. Finally, about half a dozen firetrucks made their way through the melee, creating some space, temporarily.
Meanwhile, on social media, the rumors were flying.The show was either sold out (yet had a ticket actually ever been available, to anyone?), not taking place, taking place outside, taking place outside and inside, or taking place right now at some undisclosed location. Around the corner was a gutted store, awaiting a new tenant. What if Kanye was just performing in there at this moment, by himself, as a soccer riot broke out nearby? That would have been very... Kanye.
Shortly after, at about 2:30 a.m., West did eventually show up in the middle of the insanity. He popped out of the car, met a few people and drove off. No show was ever played. (Who canceled the show, or if there was really a show in the first place, remained a mystery.)
As I chatted with my friend and other refugees, the questions flew.
Was this debacle a case study in mob mentality? A sign of poor planning by the city? The latest example of Kanye speaking first and thinking later, without anticipating how sending people to a spot without any further preparation might result in chaos? After all, if your pop-up concert features a half-dozen firetrucks but no microphone or other musical accouterments, you’re probably doing it wrong.
Ether way, I knew one thing: I was never taking direction from 2 Chainz again.
@ZeitchikLAT
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