On Sunday night, Kanye West told his fans that he was having a surprise show in New York City at 2AM. He, his wife Kim Kardashian, 2 Chainz and Virgil Abloh teased the concert on social media. Per Kim Kardashian West’s Snapchat account, West also asked someone in his camp to call NY mayor Bill de Blasio in an attempt to shut down the blocks surrounding Webster Hall so that his fans could continue their revelry-if you can consider a crush of humanity a good time.
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What was supposed to be a surprise Kanye West concert in Manhattan turned into chaos after thousands showed up at the venue only to learn that the concert was a no go. “There is no late show at Webster Hall tonight”, the venue announced.
After midnight on Sunday, a pop-up Kanye West show was cancelled after a crowd that was too large – but mostly tame – gathered outside of Webster Hall. Crowds of people were chanting “Pablo” and “Kanye” and screaming “F*** Governors Ball”. Attendees were promised full refunds, but that wasn’t enough to satisfy their intense need to see the scheduled headliner of the evening: Kanye West. While a few fans claimed police used pepper spray or tear gas, police said that was not the case. Some fans were on top of cars and others were on poles and light posts.
The musician could be seen driving by amid a wave of cell phones as fans tried to get a photo of the Grammy Award-winning musician.
Webster Hall can only hold approximately 1,500 people, but roughly 4,000 people rushed to the rumored concert scene.
Several fans took to Twitter and Instagram to document the intense crowd (below).
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There were so many fans that a line-up of diehard Kanye West followers stretched more than two blocks from Webster Hall, according to fans and residents living near Webster Hall. People climbing scaffolding. There was, at least, one woman bleeding.
