Words by Christopher Kevin Au // Images supplied by Mushroom Creative

Call me pedantic, but from hereon in, I refuse to walk into any room which isn’t filled with a minimum of 1000 kinetic spheres.

Coming into his second Australian tour, Drake had plenty to live up to. His debut visit in 2015 – which consisted of performances at Future Music Festival and his own arena shows – is remembered fondly by his legion of Australian fans. On his first visit, Drake wore a Wallabies rugby jersey while floating over the audience on a wobbly trapeze and singing tear-inducing R&B anthems. It was powerful, it was moving, and it set the bar high for Drake’s latest ‘Boy Meets World’ tour.

Demand for the ‘Boy Meets World’ tour was colossal, and buying tickets proved to be a handful. My dogshit Internet connection, combined with the spinning wheel of death induced by running Ticketek through an old Mozilla Firefox browser, was enough to give me a mental breakdown. In the end, I managed to purchase seated tickets in the humble Section 82, which is basically the fourth last row in the gargantuan Qudos Credit Arena. Still, I didn’t come here to stand, and I didn’t come here to party: I came here to be serenaded by Drake, and Section 82 seats will do just fine.

For fans who are yet to experience the ‘Boy Meets World’ tour, here’s a word of advice: Wear comfortable shoes, pack light and buy yourself not one, but two overpriced Cornetto ice creams from the canteen. This is an absolute marathon of a show, with Drake onstage for almost two hours and churning out over 30 tracks from his extensive catalogue. Still, there’s plenty to take in during the performance, with a round 360° stage connected to two runways on either side, allowing the 6 God to spread his gospel to each and every attendee on the night.

The highlight of Drake’s ambitious and elaborate stage set-up are 1000 kinetic spheres suspended gracefully from the ceiling. Throughout the night, they’re lowered to different heights and change colour to create hypnotic patterns, formations and structures. It’s almost like synchronised swimming, except with kinetic spheres instead of humans, and in airspace instead of water, so it’s not really like synchronised swimming at all. I never thought I would say this, but Drake’s 1000 kinetic spheres may have upstaged Drake’s trapeze from 2015. Miracles do happen.

Now, onto the set. Drake comes out with both guns blazing, playing bits and pieces from ‘Free Smoke,’ ‘Trophies’ and ‘Started From The Bottom.’ Things are off to a flying start – complete with fireworks and flames – but reach another level when Drake drops his rampaging ‘0-100.’ During his much quoted “Run Forrest, go Forrest” line, Drake sprints from one runway to the other in animated fashion. It’s equal parts goofy and great and I fucking hate myself for enjoying this so much.

After running through the bangers, Drake turns to his more down-tempo tunes, picking up a microphone stand and singing the ever-sensual ‘Passionfruit’ and ‘Teenage Fever.’ Combined with the moody red lighting, this feels like the soundtrack to a regretful one night stand in the nicest budget motel in town, the type that has a half-melted mint chocolate placed on the pillow and bathrobes that smell like moth balls. It’s a vibe!

From there, Drake heads into what I like to call the “I see you” section of his set. Anybody who’s seen Drake live knows what I’m talking about – basically, he points to random people in the audience and tells them how much he appreciates their attendance. “I see you with your titties out,” Drake exclaims. “I see you with the crutches!” The 360° stage means that Drake spends a long-ass time pointing to punters around the arena, and when his eyes look up at the rafters, Section 82 is going wild. Our neighbours are screaming and waving their hands in the air, hoping that Drake says, “I see you in Section 82 gyrating against the railing while eating a Cornetto!”

After the “I see you” section goes on for what feels like seven years, I am in need of something to lift the energy levels, and Drake provides with Take Care heater ‘The Motto’ followed by his guest feature on DJ Khaled’s ‘For Free.’ Soon after, Drake delves into the dancehall-flavoured segment of his set, which consists of all of his Rihanna collaborations plus ‘Controlla, ‘Blem,’ ‘One Dance’ and a twerking competition between his two dancers. All of this, complimented with baby blue lasers reminiscent of the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean Sea. Am I reading too much into it? Yes, but I just wanted to give a special mention to the lighting guys and girls. We all see you, and we all appreciate you.

But just when you think Drake was done and dusted for the night, he disappears while an extremely large globe is inflated onstage, and illuminated with swirling lights. Drake re-emerges for ‘Pop Style’ and ‘Gyalchester,’ before asking the audience respectfully to form circle pits for his bouncing anthem ‘Know Yourself.’ I can spot approximately six circle pits eventually push open, is this a Drake arena tour or a Hatebreed show in 2006? Drake gives continual shoutouts to the ‘Mosh Pit Gang’ who are regulating the dancefloor and probably elbowing people in the forehead. After inducting more people into the ‘Mosh Pit Gang (#MPG4LIFE)’ we’re treated to ‘Fake Love,’ before the entire audience joins a sing-a-long of ‘Legend’ as the grand finale.

The ‘Boy Meets World’ tour is a spectacle that’s intended to dazzle on every level, and Drake is a performer who works the space with expertise. Much like his Views album, the set feels long-winded at times, and the crowd banter could have definitely been condensed. There’s notable omissions from the set. ‘Forever’ and ‘2 On/Thotful’ are two tracks I would have loved to witness, and I also didn’t get a chance to dwell inside my own emotional inner-hell (and possibly cry) during ‘Marvin’s Room.’

Still, Drake’s sprawling and diverse catalogue is well represented here tonight, and no matter which version of the rapper you prefer – from the melancholy to the celebratory – there’s lots to love about the ‘Boy Meets World’ tour. Drake’s return to Australia is always welcome, but we also wouldn’t mind a solo tour from the 1000 kinetic spheres.