Kanye West + Toronto + mid-May = Freezing.

An amped up crowd of thousands packed Toronto's Molson Ampitheatre on a May Toronto evening where the main story was Kanye West with the secondary story being the rain and near sub zero temperatures. Something tells me West and friends might opt for the indoor comfort of the Air Canada Centre next time around these parts.

The concert began abruptly with Lupe Fiasco jumping on stage and rapidly moving through cuts such as "Paris, Tokyo", "Kick Push" and "Hip-Hop Saved My Life" (Nikki Jean appeared but no Matthew Santos on "Superstar"). After maybe 12 minutes, Lupe was done as quick as he started. The crowd wasn't however as sections sporadically began to chant "Lupe, Lupe" as the other Chi-town MC exited.

Following Lupe Fiasco was N.E.R.D. Amazing. That one word sums up what N.E.R.D. did with their stage show. Backed by a full band including two drummers, Pharrell, Chad and Shay thrashed their way through a string of hits including "Lap Dance", "Rock Star" and "She Wants To Move" (during which the group invited several females on stage to partake in some dancing that, due to the age of some of the females, bordered on R. Kelly territory). Even an off beat white boy from the crowd, who came on stage to dance but didn't want to leave, somehow added to the craziness that was N.E.R.D.'s set. It's a true testament to a group's creativity when new songs like "Everyone Nose" and "Spazz" have thousands going ballistic. And if that wasn't enough, Chris Brown popped up during their set for a little background dancer action. As you can imagine, a crowd that was already losing their minds lost everything else at this point. Like Lupe before them, N.E.R.D.'s stage set was pretty bare bones (although they did have a screen behind them). But it didn't matter. The sounds of N.E.R.D. were the only backdrop needed.

Enter Rihanna. Having the R&B songstress follow-up N.E.R.D.'s frantically excellent set seemed a bit unfair although she was aided by a more elaborate stage show and the fact that it was now dark outside and the atmosphere had begun to feel a little more "glow in the dark'ish" (more on this later). She ran through her hits and it was good. That's all that can really be said about Rihanna's performance. It was good. The obvious inclusion of R&B from a ticket sales stand point was smart on Kanye's part, however her performance, at points, somewhat took down the enthusiasm of the crowd. Not surprisingly, her rocked up version of "Umbrella" had everyone singing at the top of their lungs (males included). Mid-way through Rihanna's set you just got the impression that people were already anticipating Mr. West and had somewhat moved on (as evidenced by the exodus to washrooms and beer stands). Rihanna could have really used Chris Brown to jump on stage for a cameo and amp up the crowd a little.

Toronto, we have a small problem. The main event Kanye West finally graced Toronto with his presence following Rihanna. As has been seen in various YouTube clips, Kanye's stage set looks incredible in a darkened arena. Visually it's easy to forget speakers side stage and the structure of the venue as the concert goer gets lost in the lights and the story of Mr. West's journey. Unfortunately for Toronto, the Molson Ampitheatre is an outdoor venue. And while West's stage set was incredible and creative far beyond typical Hip-Hop standards, some of it was lost on the fact that it was an outdoor venue. Side stage was very visible from most seating locations and the venue's structure was always in visual sight. Stay tuned to YouTube for Toronto concert footage and then compare it to even the night before in Montreal where you will see that visually things are just a little better indoors. "Glow In The Dark" is best suited for complete darkness. All that being said, Kanye West was the brightest star in the sky. His set packed in as much of his catalogue as was possible as he tore through amazing renditions of "Flashing Lights" and "Good Life" (which somehow ends up being better live). It would appear that the "lose their mind" meter on the crowd reached maximum level during songs such as "Through The Wire", "Can't Tell Me Nothing", "Stronger" and "Touch The Sky", where Lupe popped up for his third verse and was treated to an ovation the rivaled Kanye's (Toronto appears to be a Lupe stronghold). The stage visuals matched beautifully with the music, especially during "Hey Mama" and "Jesus Walks" as overcast skies descended upon Kanye as he poured out his heart to thousands. A nice touch to "Hey Mama" was Kanye encouraging people to make as much noise as possible, which was nice to see as it showed Kanye had reached a pivotal spot in the healing process following the death of his mom. This was contrary to the earliest performances of "Hey Mama" where West could barley make it through the song understandably. Kanye's set finished with him on a rant to the crowd where he mistakenly said the next President of the US might be in the crowd and then stopped himself realizing he was in Canada. It was a small slip-up on a night where there were only a few.

"Glow In The Dark" tour is one of the most important moments in Hip-Hop history. It features one man, Kanye West, commanding the stage alone for an hour and a half and he doesn't lose the crowd once. Hip-Hop has come a long way and it's clear that Kanye West will be running it from here on out.