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Kanye West. Photo by Leon Laing.

Kanye West is a visionary. He’s a brand.

When his stage ascended, the Muhammad Ali of hip-hop floated like a butterfly. On Sept. 30 at State College’s Bryce Jordan Center, West justified why his brand continues to push the envelope.

During some songs at the Saint Pablo concert, there was minimal lighting on West and more on the fans on the floor level. When the orange light from the stage flashed onto the audience below, it was reminiscent of a scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Fans in that spotlight partook in a mosh pit. Later in the show, concertgoers were engulfed in plumes of stage smoke.

West’s harness kept him safe on the suspended/movable stage during his energized sets.

“Don’t be pushing. Don’t be pushing. Just stand in place,” he instructed fans while the stage shifted and “Power” began.

He opened the show with “Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1.” “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” “Blood on the Leaves,” “Facts” and “THat Part” were other songs on the set list for the concert for the 39-show tour. A series a red lasers filled the dark venue during “Fade,” a song featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Post Malone. Malone performed at BJC on Feb. 13, exactly two years after West’s Yeezus concert at the same venue

Some concertgoers wore the Kanye brand. Fans were seen clad in Yeezy Boost 350, 350 V2 and 750 kicks. And vendors at BJC sold sought-after Saint Pablo Tour merch.

I’ve seen countless concerts, and this show was one of the best thus far.