Slightly off-topic post on the Drake experience

Now, I know this is a sports blog, and a Drake concert doesn’t really fit in that category, but he came to basketball games and professed his love for the team and hung with Coach Cal and John Wall, so I feel this blog can handle it for this one.

Anyway, I did really really love Drake’s concert. And between the 50 million shout-outs to UK, the few moments where Drake couldn’t help himself from cheesing while he was admiring the crowd’s love and the group dance with the basketball team on stage, I think Drake might have been having as much fun as we were.        (Click to read more)

And the thing was, I was a huge skeptic coming into the concert. I wasn’t completely sold on Drake’s performance being completely engaged. I had been to many rock concerts before, but never a rap concert. I had no idea what I was going to do while listening to the music. Throw one hand out and vibe? Bob my head? I was lost.

But once K-OS started playing, I knew this was going to be an awesome concert. (Wait, no I didn’t. I wanted to hear them as much as you want to read about them right now. Which is probably a negative value.)

Even though I probably looked like a fool doing whatever it was I was doing in my seat, I don’t think I could have helped it considering all the stops Drake pulled out for UK, his self-professed second home.

He delivered an exclusive performance by singing “Fireworks,” a new song from his upcoming album. He said he waited until tonight to submit the album once and for all. He repeatedly told the crowd how much he loved this university, and then repeated it again. And, oh yeah, he threw a dance party with the entire UK basketball team – minus Calipari, who did the smartest thing he could have done in acknowledging that it was “not his swag” and getting out of there – on stage.

(By the way, I never was entirely sure why or how Drake, a Canadian, became a UK fan. I didn’t know if he was recruited by Calipari like a high school basketball kid, if he had relatives here or if he heard “My Old Kentucky Home” and decided that song was meant for him. And I still don’t really know. But there is no doubt in my mind anymore that he truly means it. He is not far behind Ashley Judd now in the superfan category.)

And, of course, Drake is really good. His lyrics are excellent. The set list included all the necessities and then some. His flow is about as good as you will ever hear from a Canadian man who once starred on a Nickelodeon show. His singing voice was surprisingly good. And he played with a live guitarist and live drummer, which added the capacity for solos that added an unexpected dynamic to the concert.

There was one moment that was especially illuminating. Drake was saying something about ladies, and I can’t remember what exactly it was now, but it led perfectly into “Best I Ever Had.” And when that transition happened and the crowd went wild, which is exactly what Drake knew what would happen, he still couldn’t help but smile at how much he loved UK and how much UK loved him.