“Glow in the Dark” Tour Starts Today; 3 Stops in D.C. Region

The first show Kanye West’s highly anticipated “Glow in the Dark Tour” opens today at the Key Arena in Seattle.

“This is the end of the world as we know it,” West wrote on his blog www.kanyeuniversecity.com.

In addition to the “Louis Vuitton Don,” other performers include pop princess Rihanna, hip-hop wiz kid Lupe Fiasco and the newly reunited alt-rap/rock boys from N.E.R.D. (Pharrell, Chad Hugo and Shae).

The outing will be in support of West’s third Grammy-winning album, “Graduation,” which debuted on Sept. 11.

“Kanye’s remarkable album allowed me to support his concert,” said Lyneka Drayton, a sophomore hospitality management major at Howard University, who plans to attend the show at the Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Va., on May 10. “The underrated misunderstood Chicago artist Lupe Fiasco was another reason for me purchasing my ticket as well.”

Besides the Nissan Pavilion, “The Glow in the Dark Tour” stops locally at the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater in Virginia Beach, Va., on May 11 and at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on Aug. 9.

Other stops on the tour include cities such as San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Denver, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and Cincinnati.

Mathias Dunwoody, a junior biology major at Howard University, is attending the Auburn Hills, Mich., show. “The Glow in the Dark Tour” is Dunwoody’s second Kanye West concert.

“This concert is not the cliché concert; the title says it all,” Dunwoody said. “It is not expected to be the usual performance with an artist on stage. It’s more imagery presented to the viewer.”

To enhance the imagery of his tour, West even hired pop diva Madonna’s choreographer Jamie King. “I saw the last Madonna concert,” West told MTV News. “He did the last [several] concerts and so I’ve been sitting down vibing with him, ’cause I want to bring the level of entertainment up another level.”