Friday night’s sold out Drake show at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa should serve as required viewing for any aspiring MC trying to make it in this day and age. [All photos by Darryl Richardson.]
I was hit with the crescendo-ing, banshee-shrill screams of a thousand adolescent girls upon entering the dome, a sure indication that the 23-year-old mixed-race Canadian had just taken the stage. Backed by a full live band, Drake opened with the coolly subdued, “9 A.M. in Dallas” before launching into a darker, syrupy-thick rendition of “Forever.”
Our rickety plastic seats shook as the bone-jostling output of the band crashed like some kind of sonic tsunami over the 4,000 or so in attendance. It was loud as hell, but tastefully loud as hell, if that makes any sense; Drake’s verses soared clear and distinct above the instrumentals, never muddling or, in turn, being muddled by the band's thick and heavy sound.
Drake himself was like a kid in a candy store. Running veritable laps around the stage, Drake was wildly emotive, offered up a flurry of hip-hop mannerisms, crooned panty-dropping choruses, and biting verses. He engaged like a sweat-soaked, revival tent reverend and spit the words like they were gospel. [Photo gallery & setlist after the jump.]
