REVIEW: Drake shares his feelings in Edmonton

There were certain moments during Drake’s concert in Edmonton where there were literally no live performers at all. Old person complaint: What is the world coming to?!

All the music was tracked. No band. Ha! Live musicians are so quaint. The backing vocals were tracked. Even the lead rap was tracked during one of the Canadian rap superstar’s most famous hits, Hotline Bling. “She used to call me on my cellphone.” Who calls people on their cellphone anymore? That’s so 2016.

All Drake did during Hotline Bling was sprint around on an “in the round” stage that looked and operated like a giant smart phone – and shout at the people, 17,000 strong at Rogers Place, standing the whole time, screaming out every lyric at the top of their lungs. They were just glad he showed up (late, of course). The man exudes charisma. In short, this was the world’s biggest Drake karaoke party hosted by Drake – and no one seemed to mind when Drake let his machines do the heavy lifting. And the crowd, of course – a spectacle in itself!

To give respect where credit is due, Drake did most of his his own rapping – and singing, too, a strong, distinctive voice in beautifully-written tender ballads to balance the dance floor bombshells where he proved his cred as one of the best rappers in Canada. Has “Canadian Kanye” been used yet? Whether his more musical vocals were the result of Auto-Tune was a question answered by his special guests Migos, a rap duo from Atlanta who in their brief yet painful interlude used so much Auto-Tune there was none left for the headliner. So there you go.

Back to this giant cellphone. It was an amazing piece of concert production. It depicted molten lava, melting Arctic ice, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and it was utterly mesmerizing. Also there was an actual iPhone screen during one song. Along with Migos, six female dancers gifted in the art of twerking joined Drake on the brilliantly-lit stage as a big as a basketball court – actually transforming into one (with the aid of “laser beams”) for a bit where an audience member tried to win $25,000 making free throws. Sadly, the guy in Edmonton missed every one. It’s all good – he still got a T-shirt.

The other mind-blowing production value worth mentioning were the drones – dozens of fireflies surrounding Drake, no wires evident, also a giant Lambourghini. It looked so real. Amazing.

Right, the music. There was music: Hit after hit after hit. This guy has a lot of hits. Drake is ubiquitous – over 10 years, he said, “a long time.” He also pulled off an obscure Michael Jackson cover, Rock With You. Also going over like gangbusters were songs like Nice For What and Fake Love – each revealing Drake’s insecurities. Here’s this badass rapper sharing his deepest feelings on stage, all by himself, figuratively naked. No wonder he’s so huge with the ladies.

It’s OK, man. We love you. Don’t worry about it. Rock on.

The show repeats Wednesday night.