Review + photos: Drake and Future own the night at T-Mobile Arena
As the curtain dropped inside T-Mobile Arena at 9:30 p.m. Sunday, approximately 15,000 people collectively went from 0 to 100, real quick, as pop culture megastar Drake took the stage.
From the first thump of the bass in his opening song “Summer Sixteen,” Drake owned the night as he performed an energetic and aggressive double set flanking a 30-minute relief by Atlanta rapper and co-headliner Future.
During his first stint onstage, Drake performed hits from his various albums since bursting onto the scene in the late 2000s. Songs performed included “Still Here,” “Keep the Family Close,” “9,” “U With Me,” “Feel No Ways,” “With You,” “Faithful” (performed with opening act DVSN) and hit single “Hotline Bling” from his April album “Views”; “Started From the Bottom” and “Hold on We’re Going Home” from the 2013 album “Nothing Was the Same”; as well as “Headlines,” “Trophies,” “HYFR” and “The Motto” from 2011 album “Take Care.”
In the midst of his first set, Drake paused between songs to tell the Las Vegas crowd that “I love Las Vegas with all my heart” and gave a quick shout-out to Floyd “The Champ” Mayweather Jr. and Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry, who were both in attendance.
The Canadian singer concluded the first portion of his set by welcoming Future to the stage as the sold-out T-Mobile crowd roared before the duo performed “Grammys” together. As Drake said later in the concert, there aren’t many artists who could take the stage in the middle of a Drake show and take the crowd to an even higher level, but Future did precisely that as he fittingly started with A$AP Ferg’s 2016 club banger “New Level.”
Future’s set continued as he bounced around the stage with Las Vegas regular and Drai’s Nightclub headliner DJ Esco, a big-time performer in his own right. Future’s adrenaline-pumping energy and distinct Atlanta flair fueled the highly engaged audience who threw their middle fingers up and shouted along with the rapper’s occasionally inaudible lyrics.
The remainder of his set included “Thought It Was a Drought,” “Drippin,’ ” “Stick Talk,” “Trap N*****,” “March Madness,” “F*** Up Some Commas,” “Low Life,” “Wicked” and “Jersey.”
Drake rejoined Future onstage to a raucous crowd where they performed “Big Rings” and “Jumpman” before Future exited the stage for the night.
The second of Drake’s sets was home to many of the artist’s highest-energy songs. Though the entire audience was on its feet and dancing for the whole show, the production of the show naturally climaxed during this second set, which included Billboard chart-topper “One Dance,” Meek Mill track “Back to Back” and Views single “Pop Style” before wrapping up the night with a hard-hitting performance of “Energy” and finale “Legend.”
After Future exited the stage, Drake led into a two-song Rihanna piece, paying homage to his … um … girlfriend with performances of “Work” and “Too Good.” (The two artists have been rumored to be dating for a while.) Though the songs were well-received, it was disappointing that Rihanna was not a special guest for the show. “The Summer Sixteen Tour” is known now for bringing out high-caliber guests including Kanye, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Diddy and DJ Khaled.
Before Las Vegas, the tour was in Los Angeles at Staples Center, where Drake was joined by YG, Snoop Dogg and Ty Dolla $ign. Though the show was impressive and had plenty of star power without any guests, many in the audience were expecting an unannounced appearance, which never came.
Drake and Future performed for an impressive 2 hours and 15 minutes; the entire show clocked in at 4 hours and 15 minutes. The tour’s massive production resembled a stadium tour setup crammed to fit in arenas. It was complete with hundreds of articulating glowing orbs that moved around like an equalizer during the show, nearly a dozen in-stage flamethrowers, fireworks, massive projection screen behind the artists and plethora of speakers and lights.
Since the construction of T-Mobile shifted from wish-list item to reality, many have discussed the impact it would have here. “The Summer Sixteen Tour” is arguably the biggest arena tour of the year, and having a top-tier venue on the Strip to perform in made Las Vegas a no-brainer decision to host a stop. This arena will cement Las Vegas as a stop on every major arena tour for a long time to come, especially after Drake and Future’s phenomenal “Summer Sixteen” stop.
“The Summer Sixteen Tour” continues through Oct. 16, where it will conclude with two performances at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Austin Rinker is a Las Vegas-based freelance writer.