Kanye West, Drake cancel major arena shows at the last minute

Not even Jesus (or at least a well-appointed look-alike) could save Kanye West’s show in Vancouver from an unexpected cancellation over the weekend.

His “Yeezus” tour debuted with a much-discussed kickoff over the weekend in Seattle. That set was complete with an indoor mountain, Confederate-themed merchandise and Christ himself. But his set at Rogers Arena was squashed due to what the venue described as “Unfortunate circumstances for everyone involved.”

West hasn’t issued any statement clarifying the situation, but planned a makeup date at the same venue on Oct. 31. His Seattle show also got off to a late start after some equipment was stolen, leaving fans to mull his politically volatile merch table for several hours.

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It was the second major hip-hop show to meet a last-second demise this weekend. Drake also put the kibosh on his Saturday show in Philadelphia -- an hour after its start time, when fans had already arrived at Wells Fargo arena.

The cancellation was the latest snafu for Drake’s “Would You Like a Tour,” in support of his “Nothing Was the Same” album. The dates have already been marred by weeks of delays and a major speedbump in the opening acts, after the rapper Future was booted for reportedly criticizing Drake’s record in what he claimed were off-record remarks (Future has since apologized and been re-invited back).

Philadelphia news outlets including the local NBC affiliate cited “unexpected technical issues” as the reason for the very-last-minute cancellation. Some of the openers tried to salvage the night anyway. Miguel played a surprise set to around 100 people at Ortlieb’s, a small Philly nightclub.

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