Those in the cheap(er) seats can’t believe their luck when Drake makes his way down the steps, fist-bumping and shaking hands with fans as he prepares to take on Birmingham’s 15,800-capacity Utilita Arena for a third night. With the Black Sabbath classic ‘Iron Man’ providing fitting entrance music following the death of Brummie legend Ozzy Osbourne, the Toronto rapper and singer arrives as if he’s about to step into the ring.
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With the following two hours playing out like a hard-fought boxing match, it’s a fitting analogy. There’s no questioning the 38-year-old’s tireless puppy-like energy – he laps the Scalextric-style double stage as shapeshifting lighting rigs illuminate the floor and flames shoot high – but the hit-packed 36-song setlist does, at times, test the audience’s endurance. Split into genre-divised sections – like a bumper edition of his three-night Wireless festival takeover in London – certain rounds of this career-spanning show fare better than others.
Two fan favourites from Drake’s hit-packed discography – 2011’s ‘Marvins Room’ and 2017 smash ‘Passionfruit’ – open the concert in traditional fashion, with him standing at the mic, just out of reach from a sea of iPhone cameras. Things soon kick up several gears as, looming over the transparent platform like he’s about to dive in, recent shots-firing single ‘What Did I Miss?’ and the apocalyptic rumbles of ‘SICKO MODE’ incite moshpits. “I put the stage like this because the crowd is the main attraction,” he explains of the ambitious spectacle. Later, he later joins his DJ up top among the tiered seats as TikTok-ready amapiano makeovers of ‘Hold On, We’re Going Home’ and ‘One Dance’ conjure up a summer holiday.
Drake performing live in Birmingham (Picture: Theo Skudra)
All this – with ‘God’s Plan’ and a pink-strobe-hued ‘Nice For What’ also ticked off – constitutes a winning first hour. However, an overlong R&B interlude from PARTYNEXTDOOR soon falls flat. Despite a novel’s worth of sexy lyrics and a troupe of near-naked women who lap dance around him, the Canadian artist’s solo section feels like filler. There’s no denying his huge streaming numbers – and perhaps his inclusion justifies the astronomical ticket price – but the arena is noticeably split between those luxuriating in the (very samey) bedroom vibes and those sitting down and catching a breath.
When Drake returns, in black leather trousers and waistcoat, the slow-jams atmosphere persists as the pair duet on songs from their collaborative album $ome $exy $ongs 4 U which, though a critical flop, this tour is promoting. The response to the February-released record is somewhat lacklustre – even Drake senses that attention is beginning to drift. “We can either wrap it up or keep rolling, I told you I still got more,” he says, with a hint of desperation.
Drake performing live in Birmingham (Picture: Theo Skudra)
Clearly keen to remind people just how much he’s got in his locker, Drake luckily picks things back up with a closing run that peaks with viral hit ‘Rich Baby Daddy’ (Sexyy Red’s intro immediately turns the arena into a club), the incendiary rage-rap of ‘IDGAF’ and penultimate track ‘NOKIA’.
While the production is flashy and clearly expensive, there’s a lot of chat between songs. Though he cuts a humble figure reflecting on his journey – including supporting Jay-Z on the same stage in 2010 – and shouting out his mum who is in attendance and whose basement he wrote his first songs in, sermons about conditional and unconditional love trial off. A lengthy farewell – “good things take time… great things take a lot of time” – at just gone 11pm doesn’t help, resulting in hordes legging it towards the exit.
Though conveying a message of encouragement for those in the room to pursue their dreams, it’s an arguably self-satisfied ending to a show that, while visually impressive enough to warrant a streaming special, would certainly have benefited from a sharp edit.