{"id":290467,"date":"2025-07-25T11:35:18","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T11:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/290467\/"},"modified":"2025-07-25T11:35:18","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T11:35:18","slug":"drake-live-in-birmingham-a-hit-and-miss-arena-spectacle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/290467\/","title":{"rendered":"Drake live in Birmingham: a hit-and-miss arena spectacle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Those in the cheap(er) seats can\u2019t believe their luck when Drake<\/a> makes his way down the steps, fist-bumping and shaking hands with fans as he prepares to take on Birmingham\u2019s 15,800-capacity Utilita Arena for a third night. With the Black Sabbath classic \u2018Iron Man\u2019 providing fitting entrance music following the death of Brummie legend Ozzy Osbourne<\/a>, the Toronto rapper and singer arrives as if he\u2019s about to step into the ring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read next<\/p>\n

With the following two hours playing out like a hard-fought boxing match, it\u2019s a fitting analogy. There\u2019s no questioning the 38-year-old\u2019s tireless puppy-like energy \u2013 he laps the Scalextric-style double stage as shapeshifting lighting rigs illuminate the floor and flames shoot high \u2013 but the hit-packed 36-song setlist does, at times, test the audience\u2019s endurance. Split into genre-divised sections \u2013 like a bumper edition of his three-night Wireless festival takeover in London \u2013 certain rounds of this career-spanning show fare better than others.<\/p>\n

Two fan favourites from Drake\u2019s hit-packed discography \u2013 2011\u2019s \u2018Marvins Room\u2019 and 2017 smash \u2018Passionfruit\u2019 \u2013 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\u2019s about to dive in, recent shots-firing single \u2018What Did I Miss?\u2019 and the apocalyptic rumbles of \u2018SICKO MODE\u2019 incite moshpits. \u201cI put the stage like this because the crowd is the main attraction,\u201d he explains of the ambitious spectacle. Later, he later joins his DJ up top among the tiered seats as TikTok-ready amapiano makeovers of \u2018Hold On, We\u2019re Going Home\u2019 and \u2018One Dance\u2019 conjure up a summer holiday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Drake\"Drake performing live in Birmingham (Picture: Theo Skudra)<\/p>\n

All this \u2013 with \u2018God\u2019s Plan\u2019 and a pink-strobe-hued \u2018Nice For What\u2019 also ticked off \u2013 constitutes a winning first hour. However, an overlong R&B interlude from PARTYNEXTDOOR soon falls flat. Despite a novel\u2019s worth of sexy lyrics and a troupe of near-naked women who lap dance around him, the Canadian artist\u2019s solo section feels like filler. There\u2019s no denying his huge streaming numbers \u2013 and perhaps his inclusion justifies the astronomical ticket price \u2013 but the arena is noticeably split between those luxuriating in the (very samey) bedroom vibes and those sitting down and catching a breath.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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 \u2013 even Drake senses that attention is beginning to drift. \u201cWe can either wrap it up or keep rolling, I told you I still got more,\u201d he says, with a hint of desperation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Drake\"Drake performing live in Birmingham (Picture: Theo Skudra)<\/p>\n

Clearly keen to remind people just how much he\u2019s got in his locker, Drake luckily picks things back up with a closing run that peaks with viral hit \u2018Rich Baby Daddy\u2019 (Sexyy Red\u2019s intro immediately turns the arena into a club), the incendiary rage-rap of \u2018IDGAF\u2019 and penultimate track \u2018NOKIA\u2019.<\/p>\n

While the production is flashy and clearly expensive, there\u2019s a lot of chat between songs. Though he cuts a humble figure reflecting on his journey \u2013 including supporting Jay-Z on the same stage in 2010 \u2013 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 \u2013 \u201cgood things take time\u2026 great things take a lot of time\u201d \u2013 at just gone 11pm doesn\u2019t help, resulting in hordes legging it towards the exit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Though conveying a message of encouragement for those in the room to pursue their dreams, it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Those in the cheap(er) seats can\u2019t believe their luck when Drake makes his way down the steps, fist-bumping…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290468,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,748,25144,393,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-290467","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-drake","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114913668244037394","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}