After day three of Governor's Ball was cancelled due to the lousy weather, numerous artists scheduled to play Sunday scrambled to organize some last minute shows around the city. Headliner and frequent Ellen DeGeneres guest Kanye West got in on the action, showing up for a few songs (including new single "Champions") during the "GOOD MUSIC with Big Sean and Pusha T" set at the Hot 97 Summer Jam Sunday evening. Then he did one better when his team announced another show at Webster Hall at 2 a.m. this morning.
When you live across from Webster Hall and Kanye causes a riot 💀 pic.twitter.com/TIG1b7z2kC
— Andrew Goldstein (@AngeGold) June 6, 2016
Show at 2am SOLD OUT
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) June 6, 2016
Line for Kanye's popup show at Webster hall..2 blocks away..1.5 hrs before its gonna start #goodnightandgoodluckyall pic.twitter.com/qT52mBrPUC
— Christina Winnett (@christinawinnet) June 6, 2016
Part 1. Webster Hall. #KanyePabloPopUpShow pic.twitter.com/wfsuUx3W3s
— Joe Berg (@JoeBleedsBlue) June 6, 2016
There's a good 2500 people on line in a matter of 15-20 minutes. Wildest thing I've ever seen.
— Joe Berg (@JoeBleedsBlue) June 6, 2016
There's a midnight hipster marathon going on in my neighborhood and it's @kanyewest's fault. pic.twitter.com/H0UI51NjiW
— brandon wenerd (@brandonwenerd) June 6, 2016
Okay there are like weird stampede sprints and people climbing the scaffolding on 4th Ave and shit. Nooooope.
— Hilary Hughes (@hilmonstah) June 6, 2016
As anyone who waited on line for hours at Kanye's SoHo pop up store earlier this year knows, Yeezy fans really turn up for their dude. But guess what happens when 4,000+ people show up for a show at a venue that can hold less than 3,000? A show that was 21+ and sold out less than an hour after it was announced? A show in which it was never clear whether tickets WERE really on sale to begin with? A show in which it was never clear whether the venue even knew it was supposed to be happening? Chaos reigns.
The mass of adrenaline-fueled bodies brought both vehicular and foot traffic to a complete halt by 1:30 a.m. There were "Fuck Governors Ball" and "Kanye" chants (also: "Fuck Donald Trump"), people climbing scaffolding and cars, and at least one person was spotted with blood all over her foot.
Kanye's 2am concert got my street like: pic.twitter.com/S4Z307Yrba
— Andrew Goldstein (@AngeGold) June 6, 2016
Dudes climbing scaffolding. Tons of people on cars and postal trucks. pic.twitter.com/AwhRWFSs9a
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) June 6, 2016
A woman has a foot covered in blood from the crush of the Kanye crowd, looked like she was passed out but is up now pic.twitter.com/9Y0v9iHKYg
— Amber Jamieson (@ambiej) June 6, 2016
This crush outside Webster Hall for Kanye is actually getting v dangerous. I've pulled myself up onto a trash can. pic.twitter.com/QdGp8PiY6p
— Amber Jamieson (@ambiej) June 6, 2016
More footage from scene of Kanye @ Webster pic.twitter.com/c5pX7yZJa1
— tom mckenna (@tmckenna1) June 6, 2016
Look at this power. It's almost 2 AM & more than half of these people aren't going to get in. pic.twitter.com/sdGyKEhFzi
— ronald isley (@yoyotrav) June 6, 2016
As was revealed on Kim Kardashian's Snapchat account (which is truly the only essential celebrity Snapchat account, if you're into those sorts of things), West actually attempted to call Mayor de Blasio to try to convince him to shut down multiple blocks around the venue "so [fans] can have a party outside." Yes this sounds unbelievable, but here's the video evidence:
SHUT DOWN THE BLOCK 4 STREETS AND PUT SCREENS SO THEY CAN HAVE A PARTY OUTSIDE. @kanyewest the 🐐 pic.twitter.com/scOfRht9V6
— TeamKanyeDaily (@TeamKanyeDaily) June 6, 2016
De Blasio knows it's a gospel album https://t.co/7TteQ13dIi
— LARRY TING LIVE (@YungCostanza) June 6, 2016
West's pleas fell on deaf ears, and then something even worse happened: the venue announced that after all that, the show wasn't happening.
There is no late show at Webster Hall tonight. Please get home safely.
— Webster Hall (@WebsterHall) June 6, 2016
Here is a video of the announcement. pic.twitter.com/lRJxxpXRea
— The FADER (@thefader) June 6, 2016
Everyone in NYC waiting for the 2 AM Kanye show at Webster Hall like pic.twitter.com/U2kwdqAoSH
— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) June 6, 2016
Webster Hall: "There is no show here tonight." About to be a riot on E 11th St. pic.twitter.com/EV8OZjXg23
— Bryan Armen Graham (@BryanAGraham) June 6, 2016
Not that it was enough to convince thousands of people that this wasn't some sort of false flag situation. Those who did stick around got a (very, very, very) small reward for their patience and loyalty: Kanye may have showed up for a few seconds before being whisked away by his team.
you should definitely greet your sleep-deprived kanye west stan coworker with a "beautiful morning" tomorrow
— STILL BROAZAY™✨ (@broazay) June 6, 2016
The biggest losers, of course, was anyone living in the area who fooled themselves into thinking they'd get a quiet night's rest.
Update: 2:15 a.m. There has been a TWIST in the saga:
Inexplicably, somebody with a megaphone announced the show is back on.
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) June 6, 2016
ASAP and Pusha have arrived in the last 10 minutes. STOP LYING @WEBSTERHALL
— Joe Berg (@JoeBleedsBlue) June 6, 2016
"Everybody has to calm down. If you don't calm down, no one is going inside" - KANYE GIG IS HAPPENING
— Amber Jamieson (@ambiej) June 6, 2016
And then Kanye definitely showed up...waving to fans from a car:
KANYE ARRIVING AT WEBSTER HALL pic.twitter.com/NaC3l30DCN
— TeamKanyeDaily (@TeamKanyeDaily) June 6, 2016
I just met and shook Ye's hand #shoutdownNY @TeamKanyeDaily pic.twitter.com/JktMp5AIhh
— Matthew (@matthew_david92) June 6, 2016
RAN AFTER KANYE DOWN 14th HOLY SHIT pic.twitter.com/bv21wQqwBW
— 2katez (@katertot527) June 6, 2016
.@kanyewest rides through the streets of New York #onlyonPIX11 pic.twitter.com/JKdGFYHcCl
— Myles Miller—PIX11 (@MylesMill) June 6, 2016
when @kanyewest is getting mobbed by screaming fans right across your dorm 😅 pic.twitter.com/PMVJWD6MAw
— Eric Liang (@hiEricLiang) June 6, 2016
Things are getting even more heated now, as officials from the venue are still asking people to go home:
Another guy with a megaphone telling people they've "gotta go home."
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) June 6, 2016
NYPD grabbed a kid by the throat cuz he couldn't push back a wall to wall crowd fast enough to let him through.
— ZD (@ZachDionne) June 6, 2016
Dog they're gassing us. Or mad pepper spray. Shit tastes like trash perfume. I'm pretty fucking positive they are.
— Joe Berg (@JoeBleedsBlue) June 6, 2016
But it seems we have some clarity on the situation thanks to Kim Kardashian, who says Webster Hall shut down the gig:
Kim is in the car with Kanye and said Webster Hall shut it down and they had to drive away. Tweet her suggestions of what to do next.
— TeamKanyeDaily (@TeamKanyeDaily) June 6, 2016
Update, June 6: The Mayor's press secretary Karen Hinton has definitively shed light on whether Kanye called de Blasio:
Love Ultralight Beam but Mayor's office did not get the call. @kanyewest @BilldeBlasio https://t.co/nYh0koHv8j
— Karen Hinton (@KarenHinton) June 6, 2016
And now, Kim Kardashian just Tweeted/threatened:
Thank you all for coming out at 2am. Promise he will make up this pop up show
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) June 6, 2016