One week ago Drake pulled a “Beyoncé” – releasing a 16-track mixtape without prior announcement. On Wednesday, tens of thousands of Australian fans knew it well enough to sing the songs back to him. “That’s crazy,” he said at the end of his track Energy. “I put that song out a week ago!”
The 27-year-old Canadian rapper has found himself at the nucleus of rap, and his two-hour show at Allphones Stadium was a reminder of the exhaustive back catalogue he’s put together in the six years since his breakthrough release So Far Gone. He dug deep into it for this show, including songs he made guest appearances (such as Nicki Minaj’s Truffle Butter, Big Sean’s Blessings and ILoveMakonnen’s Tuesday), remixes (2 On, for which collaborator OB O’Brien joined him on stage), and even a couple of covers making it onto the setlist.
An earnest and expressive performer, Drake was solicitous to the point of almost being ingratiating. He impressed upon the crowd that it was one of the best nights of his life, before it was even really underway. Concertgoers expect to be buttered up a bit, but no one lays it on thicker than Drake wearing a Wallabies shirt. A riff on his smooth chart-topper Hold On, We’re Going Home – “I ain’t going home,” he assured the crowd, is undoubtedly said in every town he tours in.
At times such adulation came at the expense of the show’s flow and felt exhausting, like someone trying, repeatedly, to pick you up at a bar. But for the most he sells the hell out of those lines, and going by the bras flung on stage alone, the crowd loved him for it. He levitated above their heads on a platform that travelled between the main and satellite stages, complimenting individual women’s outfits as he went. A great deal left the sold-out show feeling like they’d shared as intimate a moment with Drake as one can hope to enjoy in the presence of 20,000 people.
• Drake is performing in Melbourne on 27 February, Perth on 3 March and Brisbane on 5 March
