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Monday, November 4, 2013
Music / Live Reviews Live review: Drake, Time Warner Cable Arena (Nov. 2, 2013)
Posted By Alison Angel on Mon, Nov 4, 2013 at 10:51 AM
Drake
Time Warner Cable Arena
Nov. 2, 2013
It's hard to find an artist these days who can fill an entire arena to the brim, much less gain forgiveness after making the audience wait an hour past his opening acts for his performance to start.
But Drake? Drake can pull it off. When he finally took the stage for his Would You Like a Tour? tour on Nov. 2, 2013, at Time Warner Cable Arena, it didn't matter how long his legions of fans had to wait - an hour after opener Miguel finished his set, just to put a time on it. Drake was finally there.
On stage, it's easy to see why his fans love him so much. Besides being insanely talented, the guy is humble. Unlike opener Miguel, who was decked out in shades and fringy leather, Drake was wearing a blue shirt and pants. He didn't need all the flash to deliver a great show. Drake was just a dude having fun, which was clear from how much pleasure he got from making his audience dance.
Born Aubrey Drake Graham in Toronto, Canada, the artist who would simply become known as "Drake" didn't start out as a musician originally; his career started on Degrassi: the Next Generation as Jimmy Brooks. Eventually, he tried his luck in the music industry and released his first indie mixtape, Room for Improvement, followed in 2007 by Comeback Season. He showed a lot of promise and became Lil Wayne's protégé; the rest was history. Not too shabby of a start.
The stage setup played homage to Drake's company brand, OVO, or October's Very Own - he has a record label, OVO fest, etc. The band was sunken into the middle of a giant O that served as part of the stage, barely visible to the audience both literally (as their idol took center stage) and figuratively, only their heads peaking over a part of the O. Also paying homage to OVO, a giant lighting rig above the audience, which Drake used to show appreciation to his fans.
Bringing the lighting rig down to the stage, Drake hopped on and gave his fans an up-close-and-
personal view, taking time from the show to say hello to everyone. He started on one side of the crowd, spent at least 10 minutes pointing out individual fans and saying hello, and then moved the rig higher to acknowledge the cheap seats. Then he went to the other side. It's easy to tell that his appreciation isn't a stunt.
During "Hold On, We're Going Home," he brought two little girls up onto the stage to sing to them, holding their hands and referring to himself as "Uncle Drake." This side of the rapper couldn't be in starker contrast to his other opener, Future, who lit a joint on stage, smoked some of it, then threw the still lit blunt to the crowd.
Drake included all of the fan favorites, playing for more than an hour and including "Pop That," "Wu-Tang Forever," "Versace," and, of course, his triple-platinum single "The Motto."
What's cool about Drake is that he's such a genuinely nice guy, a good writer and a great performer that he's one of the rare ones who can bring together people of all backgrounds to take one night and dance together. There was nothing but love for Drake, music and everyone else in the arena, and it was a stunning sight to see so many thousands of people grooving to the same guy.
Considering the heights he has risen to from a modest beginning, now playing huge arenas, ending the night with "Started from the Bottom" couldn't have been more appropriate. As the lyrics say, "Now I'm on the road, half a million for a show... we started from the bottom, now we're here."
Setlist
Tuscan Leather (First Verse)
Headlines
Crew Love
Tuscan Leather (Second Verse(
Furthest Thing
Wu Tang Forever
Pop That
No New Friends
Hold on, We're Going Home
Come Thru (with Jhene Aiko)
From Time (with Jhene Aiko)
Honest (with Future)
Love Me (with Future)
Same Damn Time (with Future)
Fuckin' Problems
The Motto
Versace
HYFR
The Motion
Connect
Too Much
Pound Cake
Started from the Bottom
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