Hollywood Anderson!
I was riding the subway back home after an epic trip. I’d purchased tickets to Yeezus Tour. It was the most amazing concert I’d ever been to in my whole life.
I’d arrived ten hours early. So I was literally front row. Here only the dedicated lunatics were. I abstained from drinking liquids the whole day before because needing to go to the bathroom is an immense liability for what I was trying to do.
Nobody who made it to the front row came less than 10 hours early. I arrived ten hours early and was 5th in line. It was all one family and they were adorable, so it was cool. But ten hours early and fifth in line didn’t feel great. I’d traveled all the way to Atlantic City to do so. It was quite the journey.
I was at this Kanye concert at the peak of my Kanye fanhood. Every day for the last 6 months, every workout I did, I spent listening to Kanye interviews only. No music. And here I was headed on a solo mission to see Kanye. The transportation required taking subways and then a bus ride to Atlantic City.
It was truly worth it. The concert was next level spectacular. All the elements of artwork were at play. The stage was an architectural masterpiece. The costume design was on the level of a broadway play. Certainly, more emphasis and effort on a costume than gets put into the average live music performance. There was incredible choreography and outfitted dancers, donning what looked like some current Yeezus apparel. There were cool video projections of the live performance. The whole thing was stunning. It was a masterpiece of a performance.
I was so close I was able to place my hand on the physical stage. When Kanye jumped, the stage rocked and bounced with him, yet stayed supportive. I know this because I felt the vibrations of the stage and watched it bounce. I was under the influence and the show was visually stunning It was an incredible transformative concert. The concert was so immersive and amazing that despite my incredible unbeatable spot, I left it to go dance and run around.
I danced like crazy. I was running around the stadium pumping people up. Waving my arms I just had hit the game-winner at the buzzer, and I was screaming Kanye lyrics. I am not imagining this part. I don’t care if you don’t believe me. When I was, quite far from the stage (because I’d run around) Kanye made eye contact with me. And nodded his head. This happened. Yes, I wasn’t in the right state of mind. Yes, it also happened.
After, running around like crazy. I came back to an area I had been in before. I bumped into a guy who had just bent down and picked up something off the ground. I saw him inspect it then look at me. He squints his eyes. Is this you? He gestures at my driver’s license. Oh my god Yes! Thank you so much. I look down in horror at my pocket which was supposed to be tightly zippered with my driver’s license, my unlimited monthly subway card, and my debit card. The zipper is wide open. Nothing is in there. I look down. Oh! There’s my subway pass. I look down again. Oh, there’s my debit card. Phew, problem solved. I zip that back up into my pocket and my now justified immense paranoia about dropping my shit continues all night.
All of a sudden, the lights came on and the night was over. I remember walking out and the giant hall we were in looking like a completely different world. We were back to reality. I rode the bus back to NYC very late. I arrived at the subway, tired from the journey. I could never be impressed by anything ever again, so I thought.
But then I heard Hollywood Anderson’s voice. We were at the Essex subway stop and he was singing his own original song. “My Best Friend”. I told him that I’d just been to Kanye’s concert and it was incredible. That was the best concert I’d ever been to. And that what he just performed, was awe-inspiring despite what I’d just seen.
The beauty of his voice and acoustic guitar were powerful enough to deeply emotionally resonate, even after that unbelievable high budget well-executed masterpiece of a concert experience. He told me that he was going to see the very same concert tomorrow at Nassau Coliseum. Little did I know, I would be going the next day too, with my little brother and parents. (The side story on that below!)
Hollywood and I made plans to shoot a video. I filmed him twice. Once in that original location where I met him. Singing his original song my best friend. The video went on to get 6 million views across two youtube channels. This makes me incredibly proud because later, Hollywood Anderson would wow Jennifer Lopez to tears, during his televised first American Idol appearance. Initially, the judges were taken aback by his passion and exuberance, but when he started to sing and play his song, they absolutely understood that this energy was that of a very gifted musician. I am so proud to say that my video with Hollywood Anderson got more views than this star-studded network supported moment. I’ll include the J-Lo video as well below.
Just an amazing dude with his guitar on the subway. Hollywood has blown up and started to really take off musically. Opportunities have been blossoming as has his following. He’s been posting politically engaging content and really coming into his own. It’s amazing to see. I met up with Hollywood two other times. Once was to film a concert at a venue in the Lower East Side. The other time I filmed him composing music in his home setting. Hollywood is incredible in terms of the opportunities he has created himself. He’s a very inspiring individual who you should give a listen to and don’t forget to follow! I really hope to do an Oral history on the amazing individual’s life one day. He is truly remarkable.
My mom is holding her phone backwards. She’s locked in focus wise though.
Side Story
On the way back home I texted my parents about how they had to go see the show the next day, as it would be playing. They ended up listening to me and taking me with them! This is a photo of my mom not knowing how to turn on her light when Kanye prompted the audience to all turn on their lights.
Her phone is backward. From the first note of the concert, my parents were like fuck, this is gonna suck musically. Yeezus is not a crowd-pleasing Kanye album. But they ended up thinking it was amazing, architecturally, costume wise, showmanship status, and Kanye’s mid-concert rants are so interesting. He stopped both concerts in the middle to rant for almost 20 minutes each time. It was phenomenal.
A funny moment in the side story.
On the way into the concert, my parents said “We must be the oldest people here.” to which I responded, Nah I don’t think so. Later when they got their ticket scanned. The older gentleman scanning their ticket goes, “you’re the oldest people I’ve seen her all night”. I think that makes them really cool.