(perfect finale photo, from Devi Dev)

Kanye West is invading Austin! (again)
Diddy just did the cooking dance with Lil’ B at the Fader Fort, and Snoop just performed at the Pepsi showcase, and Warren G will regulate in honor of Nate Dogg at the Vibe house….but the biggest event of the week is tonite’s VEVO Power Station featuring Kanye and friends. Unlike some of SXSW’s events, VEVO is not streaming the show live…but they will present video clips on Good Friday, April 22nd. (I’m actually happy about that because I know the clips will be well shot and edited, as opposed to the hours of blurry, buzzy footage I’ve seen so far.)
But until then, we can live vicariously through our sources and scenesters!

ShowTime:
5:06am: Dunzo! all my secret squirrels are off to the airport. And I am off to that sweet coma-cloud.
5:02am: Now the whole G.O.O.D family is onstage, like the finale of the Oscars. Supporting Kanye for “Good Life.” (I know that this is the greatest show in the audiences lives. But I’m almost in tears. Help.) By the way….Beyonce’s estrogen would have been lovely on the stage. But she stayed off-stage.
4:54am: I just realized I probably started this timeline on Texas time and switched to NY time. But my brain is pulled pork. Jay-Z and Kanye just hugged and left the stage! Sleepytime, here I come!…..Sweet Jesus. Nope. Kanye is back with Justin Vernon for “Lost In The World.” That’s my favorite song, though. I know everyone’s enjoying the encore.
4:39am: Gabz says, “Opera break, they stood dead still like statues, then Jay prepped the audience for the drop and the place went nuts…’Monster!’” During “Swagger Like Us,” Kanye passes on his verse…on to “So Appalled.” And then “Big Pimpin.” Wow, this is a very thorough concert! It’s like 4 medleys and a mega concert.
4:33am: Finally all your prayers have been answered, long-suffering feet of the weary SXSW badgeholders! “HAM” onstage with Kanye and Jay-Z. Many many hand-triangles are held up.
4:24am: the show has gone from a black to red to blue theme, Kanye has a marching band, and “All Of The Lights.” Cudi is missing in action (hmm) and Ye is doing Fergie’s verse (lol).
4:10am: Kanye did a costume change (obviously). In his all red suit, looking “broody.” It’s “Runaway” time and he wants the crowd to adore him. They are obliging.

(Love these photos from VEVO’s twitter account YoVevo)

3:55am: Kanye is singing the chorus of “Blame Game “You weren’t perfect, but you made life worth it.” Gabz says he sounds good, even without autotune. Our boy Harry says “Kanye is wearing fingerless gloves.”
3:52am: best comment of the night, “Cudi is dancing in a really strange manner. I can only liken it to a child pretending to be a train. He has invisible wheels.”
More Kanye West x VEVO play by play….
after the jump

3:48am: uh oh….Kanye, Legend, Cudi, Pusha….all on stage doing “Dior Flow.” If the crowd hears that first note of “I’m So Appalled” we know what that means….
That Hov is about to upstage all of them.
3:42am: Well, according to Gabz, “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” just got the biggest crowd eruption of the night….followed by the cool ivory tickling of John Legend for “Mel Gibson Dior Flow” *teehee*
3:29am: Kanye is on! “Dark Twisted Fantasy” Time….seriously though, rushing through the acts so that they don’t even get to interact with the crowd is like a highlight real with no endzone dances : (
Maybe Ye has a hot date….this morning?
Kanye is doing little bits from “Gorgeous,” “Blame Game,” “Hell of a Life”….”heeellll offfaaa life”-autotune voice.
3:17am: Kid Cudi is onstage, “Mr. Rager,” rocking his new leather jacket line. Now “Memories.” Eek…apparently “Pursuit of Happiness” was missing some words.

3:15am: Mr. Hudson did an extended vocal version of “Young Forever,” no Hov, and the crowd sings chorus acapella. Then he exits and 2 dancers enter.
3:06am: Mr. Hudson in “all black everything.” He opens with “Love Never Dies.” I just can’t believe these guys are whipping through 3-minute sets with 10-second set changes. Emeka said “what’s funny is that Mos had the longest set.”
3:03am: Now Cyhi Da Prynce is on….he didn’t get cut, just moved. Upgrayyedd!…and apparently he has a violin player with him.

(Big Sean, via the homie Nick Diamonds. More photos after the jump)
2:58am: Sean rocked “Supadupa Lemonade” and “My Last.” Few witnesses say he got the most crowd energy….but that also may be because the crowd didn’t have time to warm up before Mos and Pusha were gone. (See PaulCantor’s tweet. SMH!)
2:50am: Waaat! Pusha is already done. He did “Grinding”, “What Happened to that Boy” and “My God”….then out. Now Big Sean is on performing “Too Fake.” (hmm, clearly, they’re zooming through the guest list in an effort to get Kanye on before his witching hour ends. No fair!)
2:46am: Mos is done, now it’s Pusha T’s time….
Mos Def: removes his mask and starts performing, he dives into “Lord Lord Lord” and gives a shoutout to “Good Fridays.” Does this mean that Cyhi’s set has been cut?
FaceMasks!: Ok 1:20am in Texas, Mos Def is onstage in a weird Phantom of the Opera-style mask saying “You’re Welcome, You’re All Welcome.” His background players have on ski masks. (*please let there be an ongoing Eyes Wide Shut theme…please!*)

StevenSmithSays took this video of the venue…

Pre-Show:

(Don’t you wish you were there? Or at least past this massive and antsy crowd of people hoping to get into tonite’s Kanye West x VEVO SXSW event)

Patience is a Virtue: Showtime may rival that infamous Kanye x Bonarroo performance of 2008 , remember when his set didn’t start until dawn? Well, according to some organizers, anyone in the venue wont even be able to leave it until 4am. And the actual show may end later than that! (#nappingisfundamental)

Line-Up FanGasm: It’s already 1:04am in Texas but the performances haven’t started. But this schedule should be worth the wait…Cyhi Da Prynce, then Mos Def, then Big Sean, then Pusha T, then John Legend, then Kid Cudi, the…Kanye! (and then lunch?)

Hardcore Fans: Some fans have been camped outside the venue, waiting to get in….since yesterday. I personally think this is reasonable….if you can do it for sneakers, then why not for a huge show that you know will be fascinating, if not epic.

Cover Your Groin: The event is taking place at an actual power plant. Hopefully, stable. It holds about 2500 people, but thousands more tried to RSVP for the event. One good thing about being in a power plant is that folks have plenty of places to charge their phones (which may have died after waiting outside for hours)

Guess Who’s Coming To Breakfast: The pre-show buzz is all about a hiphop/pop power couple that was spotted at rehearsals…when in Texas, do it big! *wink*

Photos:

(Kanye loves leather. Via PeterSim. Dead at Peter’s other tweet, LOL!)

(Jay-Z joins Kanye West for “H.A.M.” at the Vevo Power Station. Pic via AmericanPsycho aka The Sheik)

(Cudi, via Peter Sim)

(nice pic of Pusha T, via AmericanPsycho)

(Mos Def and masked men, via Nick Diamonds)

(Love how the set looks in this pic of Mos Def, via Virgil Abloh)

(spotted a twitpic of the large venue)