Backstage at Slippery Rock University, Drake was calm and cool as always, but you could tell that the 23-year-old Canadian superstar was eager to kick off the first night of his Away From Home tour.
Since collapsing onstage because of a knee injury last fall, Drake has had to focus more on his album (Thank Me Later, due out June 15) than on live performances. But on Monday night, he showed no signs of rust. With the lights down, the energy all the way turned up, Drake commenced his tour with ‘Forever.’ Backed by a four-piece band and a DJ, Drizzy stepped to the stage and sang, ‘I want this thing forever, man.’
Even though Drake has obviously been concentrating on being a lyrical bulldozer, the Young Money cleanup hitter hasn’t sacrificed his crooning. Drake’s live singing sounds like it does on MP3s, and his bars cut sharp as the fans rapped along. ‘Faded off the brown,’ he spit. ‘Nino!’ They answered, finishing his rhyme. ‘Unstoppable’ came next, and the fans went in extra heavy on the first verse, even drowning Drake out. ‘Uptown’ followed. ‘I’m so excited to share this moment with you, because it’s really my first show back in six months,’ Drake told the crowd, and then turned to the band, saying, ‘Take me somewhere, please.’ ‘Lust for Life’ and ‘Houstatlantavegas’ came in the aftermath. Even at this young stage in his career, Drake’s stage presence seems to indicate that it won’t be long until he graduates from college basketball gyms to the Madison Square Gardens of the world.
