A decade after the success of his debut album, Canadian R&B artist Daniel Caesar is now filling arenas. I was pleasantly surprised to see a young crowd gathered at the Centre Bell for his Son of Spergy tour, his first global arena run through Asia and North America.
070 Shake opened the show, although unfortunately the sound was not great. Autotune left her vocals sounding clipped and dry, while the backlighting meant I spent most of the set watching a dark figure onstage. Then the lights started flashing and I wondered if there were any epileptics in the audience.
For his arena debut, five-time JUNO winner Daniel Caesar is just having fun. He rolled onstage with a wheely scooter as his leg was stuck in a medical boot, and then hopped between a desk and the mic stand. A choir occupied stage left, and his band sat scattered in chairs at the other end of the stage.
Caesar opened with “Rain Down” off his new record, Son of Spergy, and then sang “Call On Me,” “Have A Baby (With Me),” and “Who Knows,” one of the most gorgeous performances of the night. Spergy – his father’s nickname – is an R&B record that explores themes of masculinity, accountability, and faith. It introduced a more mature, reflective Caesar, and a more soul-infused sound. A gospel choir suited the record’s spiritual undertones, although they seemed at times underutilised as Caesar lapsed into solo performances and material from other records.
In addition to tracks off the latest record, he cycled through earlier singles like “Japanese Denim” and tracks off of Freudian and Case Study 01. There were a lot of early-career Caesar fans in the room, and it was hair-raising to hear thousands of people sing “my blueee jeeeeeans” in unison.
Despite the hefty subject matter, Caesar’s set was good-natured and light-hearted. His tour promotion materials had consisted of smartphone videos shot in selfie mode. He took a break mid-song to run scooter laps around the stage. A cameraman roamed the stage which made for a particularly dynamic live feed. Meanwhile, clips from “Volcano of Love,” “Arrival,” and a nature documentary on underwater creatures played on the backdrop. It was around this time that he took his boot off and treated Centre Bell to a view of his toes.
The stadium showed him lots of love in return, singing over the speakers when he performed acoustic and lighting up the arena with the flashlights on their smartphones. So when he was told he had time left for one more song, he flipped off the camera and sang two. It was perfectly unserious, and a sign that Caesar is comfortable where he is, as an artist and an arena act.
Review – Irene Wang
Photos – Nic Cantin
