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The difference between taking yourself and your music seriously

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By Stephanie De Pasquale | Wednesday, July 2, 2008 11:17 AM CDT | () comments

Let me start by saying I am a Kanye West fan and that I thought the Glow in the Dark Tour stop last week at the i wireless Center was nothing short of amazing.

But the day before that, I saw up-and-coming artist Tim Fite during a Daytrotter Presents show at Huckleberry’s Pizza Parlor in downtown Rock Island.

Fite demonstrated a wide range of musical ability and performed a combination of country, alternative and hip-hop songs. He took on a persona during the performance in which he spoke with a Southern drawl and almost always had a dumfounded look on his face as he sang songs that made fun of himself and the music industry.

He even led the crowd of about 40 people in a rendition of “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes” during which the mostly 20-somethings participated, laughing all the while.

The music was outstanding and the atmosphere was fun because Fite took the music seriously, but not himself.

The same cannot be said for West. While collaborations are common in hip-hop and opening acts Rihanna and Lupe Fiasco both were joined by other artists, West spent his 90-minute set alone onstage, making sure the attention was focused completely on him.

His show’s premise was that a spaceship had crashed on an unknown planet because the Earth had lost all creativity and West was on a mission to find inspiration. It gave the impression that that just might be what he thinks about music today: Everything except what he creates is void of true inspiration and creativity.

Further, West did not allow any photos to be taken during the concert by either the news media or his fans. And we’re talking about a visually stunning show, the likes of which you’d want to share pictures with your friends.

West definitely gave his all and put on a great show during his Quad-City visit, but he could learn a lesson from Fite, who also managed to put on a memorable show without the ego.

Stephanie De Pasquale can be contacted at (563) 333-2639 or sdepasquale@qctimes.com.