Ball. So. Hard.

Jay-Z and Kanye West "N***as in Paris"

Finally. The wait is over. Last night I got the absolute pleasure to see the Watch The Throne Tour, Jay-Z and Kanye West in one arena, in one night. To be quite frank, I'm stuck for words; how do you describe something that was quite simply utterly incredible? As such a long-standing Jay-Z fan, (with the back catalogue of albums to prove it), I still feel a little palpitation at the thought of it being a reality. So now we have firmly established that I am in the 'super fan' camp, I can somehow attempt to eloquently describe the experience. 

Firstly what I wore:

H&M Trousers, New Look Vest, Zara pumps via ebay, H&M and Topshop jewellery

Printed trousers Statement trousers seem to be as common as the trophy blazer of seasons past, mirrored florals, tropical scenes and pyjama prints are the obsession du jour. These trousers must have been a massive hit for H&M, having seen them on a number of fashionistas throughout the bloggersphere, and in numerous street style shots, with them subsequently selling out. This is no surprise, with the £12.99 price tag they were hardly a drop in the ocean. I teamed them with leopard print for some ‘print clash’ action, and a simple loose fitting grey vest, my thoughts being: I wanted to look like I had made an effort, but was also thinking practically; having got standing tickets, there was going to be no way I was going to stand and watch all the action from the perimeter, I wanted in!

It would appear that Jay-Z and Kanye have some seriously stylish fans. I have to say that I was somewhat surprised by the diversity of the crowd, I'd been expecting it to be predominantly 'hip-hop', but was proved wrong, despite the plethora of New Era caps! For the ladies it was a mix of AA disco pants, (back to the statement trousers), in mostly black, with the brave branching out and opting for red or safer charcoal and navy. A smattering of Jeffrey Campbell Lita's were seen, as were cut-off denim shorts sported both with and without tights despite the minuscule amounts of fabric. The boys seemed to keep it casual in printed tees and chinos, but they weren't afraid to throw on an accessory or two, with many a bespectacled beauty to be seen.

Just to give you an idea of scale, this was the arena bowl filling up before the lights dropped and that all important announcement that the show was about to start was made.

For those of you that have tickets, but haven't seen the show yet, you are in for an absolute treat! Jay an Ye have such a presence when they are on the stage, they really do know how to command an audience, of which all remained standing throughout. The light show was incredible, at one point it looked as though there were clouds floating on the stage, and as for the huge led, light-box stages-unreal! 

For me, despite N****as in Paris being undoubtedly the headline song of the night, four times over in fact, performance of the night for me was Izzo (H.O.V.A), as at that point Jay asked the crowd to put their diamonds up in the air, and seeing the whole crowd raise their hands and show Jay-Z the rock, was a real euphoric moment.

You constantly felt throughout as though there was a real sense of rapport between the two on stage, even so much so that when each the other took centre stage to do a song from their solo album, you caught glimpses of the other lip syncing along, it was little details like that, and the obvious respect that was mutually shown that made the show so special; just two artists on stage, without backing dancers, simply doing their thing.

Cannot deny the fact that I have felt somewhat deflated today, I'm sad it's all over, but yes I did get to Watch The Throne, and I think it is going to take some serious beating!

What show have you been to that simply left you feeling elated? Have you ever been to a gig and wondered if anything will ever live up to that performance? Would love to hear from some of you.

KDx