The Joys of Kanye

An OffBeat staffer who went to Bonnaroo asked, “Does Essence know what it’s getting itself into?” Yahoo reports that Kanye West didn’t go on until until 4:30 a.m. for a host of reasons:

West was originally set to kick things off at 8:15 p.m., but because he wanted to make the most of his Glow-in-the-Dark Tour’s lighting show, the hip-hopster’s camp asked to push back the gig to 2:45 a.m. following Pearl Jam’s show.

However, the Seattle grunge rockers’ gig lasted an hour longer than planned, with Eddie Vedder and bandmates not wrapping until 1:15 a.m. Then there was an extended break while Pearl Jam’s roadies disassembled the band’s stage and West’s crew set up his own elaborate backdrop, a glow-in-the-dark spaceship along with undulating black platform and raised video screen.

Our staffer left Bonnaroo with a slightly different take. He was watching Phil Lesh and Friends’ late night set – one that often goes until sunrise – and reports that Lesh announced some time after 3 a.m. that the next song would be their last because West wouldn’t perform while other bands were onstage.