Review
By Elisa Villanueva @BBELISACATS
In one of the most anticipated concerts of the summer, Drake brought his Summer Sixteen Tour to the Bay Area for four nights. The last time Drake came to the Bay Area was in 2014 during his Drake vs. Lil Wayne Tour in Mountain View. This time around, he brought along Future.
Drake first stopped in Oakland September 13 and 14. At both shows, he had special guests on stage which included Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Too $hort and Mac Dre’s mother.
A week and a half later, Drake came back to perform in San Jose on Sept. 24 and 25. Unfortunately he didn’t bring out any special guests, but it was still far from a show that disappointed.
He started off the show with one of the biggest singles of the summer “Summer Sixteen.” After he finished, he started talking to the crowd and getting fired up for the night. Drake continued performing songs from his latest album “Views”. He also did choruses and bits from his throwback songs “Miss Me,” “Headlines,” “0 to 100” and more. It was a little emotional seeing him rap his old songs as I reminisced how long I have been a fan of his.
Before leaving the stage for a break, he performed “Hold on, We’re Going Home” and “Hotline Bling.” Both of these songs included a show of balloon-like lanterns hanging from the ceiling which changed colors and moved to the flow of the music. The whole crowd, including myself, was vibing throughout the concert and dancing along.
During Drake’s break, Future came out to keep the crowd’s vibe alive. Sadly, it was a disappointment. Most of the songs he performed weren’t even his most popular. There also wasn’t much rapping involved either. Instead it was a lot of jumping around while mumbling. A lot of the crowd sat down midway through his performance. I only stood up and kept dancing for the sake of having a good time.
Drake came back up and performed with Future for two songs “Big Rings” and “Jumpman.” It would have been of lot more memorable if they also included “Where Ya At” which is one of my favorites songs they have collaborated on. Regardless, it was still a better performance than Future by himself.
Drake finished the rest of the concert by himself and the crowd lifted their feet back up. His encore were songs from his “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” album such as “Know Yourself,” “Energy” and the finale, “Legend.” He ended the concert thanking the crowd for the amazing show. He also pointed out various fans from the crowd which made everyone go crazy.
Drake is one of the most vibrant performers I have seen live. He was constantly pumping up the crowd and dancing on stage. I also enjoyed him wearing jerseys from Bay Area sports teams. Even though he’s from Toronto, you can tell his love for the bay is real.
“This may be the best crowd I have had all tour,” Drake said throughout the whole concert. His statements may have been fluffed up but they were still crowd pleasers. Even after seeing him two other times before, he is an artist I’ll never miss a concert for. He can definitely put on a show.