Over mid-term break I went to see the Drake and J. Cole concert in Buffalo, NY. Let me tell you this was such a fun experience and I would totally go again. This concert was very different from any other concert I’ve ever been to before, but in a good way for sure.
My co-worker and I decided to go together to see the Drake and J. Cole concert. We waited in long lines and crowds, but it was definitely worth the wait. The amount of people who attended the concert was actually insane. When waiting outside to go into the KeyBank center, there were hundreds of people packed into a small space waiting to get through security. I was so anxious and excited and was happy to see the line move even an inch closer to those doors. Finally, we made our way through and immediately headed to the merchandise stand. Luckily, there was a stand right by our section with a surprisingly short line. I knew I wanted to buy a t-shirt or sweatshirt because who doesn’t want to remember a concert like this. After buying a Drake t-shirt, we found our way to our seats and waited patiently for the concert to begin.
A Peek of the Set List
The set list from this concert was really great and surprised me in a way. I was kinda surprised that Drake specifically performed multiple songs that had features. A lot of the songs he played featured, 21 Savage, Yeat, Travis Scott and SZA.
- Marvins Room
- The Motto (feat. Lil Wayne)
- Nonstop
- SICKO MODE
- Know Yourself
- Nice For What
- Calling For You (feat. 21 Savage)
- Rich Baby Daddy (feat. Sexyy Red & SZA)
- Passionfruit
- IDGAF (feat. Yeat)
Favorites From the Show
My favorite part of the concert was definitely seeing the different setup’s for the stage and lighting. Every song that he played had a different display on the stage along with different color lighting and other displays. I really enjoy not only when the artist puts on a great performance but also when their setup is really nice. The whole show the displays were very appealing to the eye and the change of colors and visuals really help set the tone for each individual song. For example, if the lights where red and orange, then the song usually was more upbeat, but if the lights were blue and purple, then the song usually was more calm or a slower beat.
The Performance Itself
The performance of Drake and J. Cole themselves was very good. They both made sure to go to each and every side of the stage so everybody could see them and even made sure to interact with the audience. When the show first started, they had a marching band that started playing the intro to the song, “Trophies” by Young Money (feat. Drake). This definitely was eye catching mainly because not many concerts start out like this and usually marching bands do not play this genre of music.
Making the Concert Meaningful
As someone paying for concert tickets that are not cheap, I really love when the artist takes the time out of their show to tell a story or share a memory that they might not always share when on tour. For those who don’t know, Drake was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Toronto is not too far from Buffalo, and Drake specifically shared with his audience what Buffalo means to him. He shared with us that back in the 2000s when he first started making music, his first performance actually took place at Daemen college. He also shared that he would drive his mom’s Chevy Malibu over the boarder and Buffalo would be his first stop in the states. Buffalo, since it is so close to Canada, was his first glimpse into the US and was certainly not the last when his career eventually blew up. It was nice to hear about his memories here in a city that we share so much in common with, and I believe that he truly connected with the audience here for both concert days.