Call it "bliss," call it "better than Christmas morning," call it "the coolest thing ever," - or call it what it was - a performance by none other than six-time Grammy Award-winning rapper Kanye West at Conte Forum Tuesday night.

Taking the stage at 9:15 p.m. and performing hits from his Late Registration and The College Dropout albums, West had the 6,000-people-strong audience on its feet throughout the entire hour and a half-long concert.

"We can't control the rainy weather," said West after he performed the first few numbers, "but maybe I can make it up to you."

Opening with "Diamonds from Sierra Leone," West rapped 17 songs from his albums, including "Gold Digger," "Slow Jamz," "Heard 'Em Say," and "Jesus Walks," and nine beats by other artists. Proving his talent as one of today's top hip-hop performing artists, West had students dancing and singing with the music, maintaining an intense energy level throughout the show's duration.

"West thanked us and said he enjoyed the venue and the audience," said Prescott White, the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) director of programming and CSOM '06. "There was so much energy, which adds so much to the show and gets the artist pumped up."

In fact, the hundreds of enthusiastic students who pulled out their cell phones to light up Conte Forum before the encore performance produced such a spectacle that White said a member of West's entourage videotaped it on stage. "We actually delayed the encore so West and his management could see what was going on," said White.

Sponsored by the UGBC, the closed concert was put on specifically for the BC community. Following a change in ticketing policy put into effect Monday, students had to exchange their general admission tickets for assigned seats. But many said that the procedure actually made entrance into the venue easier and faster.

"It was good to know where my seat was," said Mark Filenbaum, CSOM '08.

Despite the tightened security, which required 77 event staff brought from CSC Special Events, 60 student security members from the UGBC, 32 BC Police Department officers, and eight officers from the Boston Police Department, White said no major incidents occurred at the concert. "We had a few kids trying to sneak backstage," he said, "but no one succeeded. That would have upset West's management."

The only incidents were alcohol-related, as several intoxicated students had to be escorted from the venue. "The behavior of the students impressed the administration," said White. "They stayed in their seats and kept the aisles clear."

Students were told to allow a half-hour to pass through security when entering the venue, which Pat Bittorf, LSOE '09, likened to "airport security." Despite the precautionary metal detectors, queues, students said, were not insufferable.

The need for heightened security came as part of the last-minute mandates from the city of Boston, which added substantially to the UGBC's cost of the concert. Between additional security, seating, and miscellaneous production expenses, White estimated the total cost for the concert to be in the range of $210,000.

While the UGBC saved funds when it did not hold a fall concert, West's single, big-name concert ended up costing the same as what two smaller concerts combined normally cost. Most of the funding comes from the University Programming Board's budget, while the student activity fees and ticket sales revenue also helped to offset the expenditures. Still, White estimated a loss of about $80,000, which is normal, he said, for a year of programming.

Because of West's high price, funds will be siphoned from this year's Modstock budget. The UGBC is currently in talks with three bands to play at the annual concert, to take place a week from today. Concerts will no longer be officially announced until an entertainment license is obtained from the city of Boston in advance, so the bands will not be booked until the license is confirmed. The UGBC hopes to have the license secured by this weekend.

West was secured through the efforts of the University Programming Board and Ryan McHaffie, UGBC director for campus entertainment and CSOM '07. McHaffie said that West's agency was easy and accommodating to work with, and that the success of Tuesday's concert stands high among the UGBC's list of achievements this year.

"As an event, I think this has been by far the biggest accomplishment of the past three years," he said in an e-mail. "We have upped the ante and proven that we can manage and host large shows. We have also set a precedent that will hopefully allow us to continue this trend in the future."

Students agreed that the excitement of an artist as well-known as West coming to perform at BC will be remembered for years to come. "It's pretty awesome," said Ashley Reid, CSOM '08. "BC hasn't had anything like this in a long time."

"They should do something like this every year," said Brandon Robinson, A&S '08. "I'm liking the sound of Jay-Z for next year."

"I've heard repeatedly that this is they way the senior class wanted to go out," said White. "Our goal was to get one big-name show, and I'm proud of the department for accomplishing that."

The concert required a two-day-long set-up process, according to Maura Lucking, UGBC co-director of community events and A&S '08. White said that student organizers were at the venue until 3 a.m. Wednesday morning breaking down the set-up.

Students in charge of hospitality and organization said West was friendly and agreeable, making special requests for Tropicana orange juice, Martinelli's apple cider, Hall's vitamin C lozenges, and two dozen black hand-towels.

West's agency and the UGBC hired all local production crews, stage and grid crews, sound and light crews, and even the eight-piece string section. Only the background singers were part of West's regular sound-ensemble. Having just come off his international Touch the Sky Tour, West performed before another college-age audience at UMass Boston last night.

"He's one of the best artists we could have gotten," said Luke Howe, UGBC president and A&S '06. "All students can relate to his music, and he personally thanked us for having him."

The universality of West's music came through in his closing song, which he prefaced by giving students a word of advice. "No matter who's in your life telling you that you can't," said West, "you say to yourself, 'I'mma touch the sky …'"