Live Review: Dave – The O2 Arena, London

Dave has long been one of Britain’s greatest musical minds, so it was only natural that he would rise to become one of the country’s most compelling live performers. His first tour came in 2017 in support of his second project, the ‘Game Over’ EP, rounding out at London’s KOKO to a sold-out crowd of around 1,500. Two years later came the Psychodrama tour, celebrating the release of his critically acclaimed debut album and culminating in two sold-out homecoming shows at Brixton’s O2 Academy, drawing around 9,000 people across both nights. Three years on, ‘We’re All Alone in This Together’ arrived, and with it a tour that included two sold-out nights at London’s O2 Arena, drawing some 40,000 people in total. Those shows earned rave reviews for the way Dave threaded intimate moments through a procession of hits, alongside a guest list that included Stormzy, Central Cee, AJ Tracey, Fredo and more.

It made sense, then, that Dave would pencil in two nights at the O2 for his third and most mature album, ‘The Boy Who Played the Harp’. He was wrong. The run was quickly expanded to four nights, each selling out just as fast as the last, with 80,000 tickets sold in London alone.

But tonight, unlike his last tour, it was just Dave and close collaborator James Blake.

First, the lights dimmed. Then, on the monolithic screens flanking either side of the stage – which featured a raised platform, a runway jutting into the crowd and a diamond-shaped extension at its end – an introduction appeared: “a child. The youngest of his brothers. Born in Angell Town and raised in South London. David, his namesake, a musician. The shepherd boy who played the harp, chosen to write and change the course of history.”

A flurry of lights followed, and the curtain swiftly dropped to reveal Dave launching straight into the opening verse of his most recent album: “This is God’s plan, He said it to me…,” with James Blake joining him shortly after for the rest of the song.

After ‘History’, Dave moved into ‘No Weapons’ and ‘Verdansk’, accompanied by blinding pyrotechnics. Blake returned for a second appearance, prompting an even louder reaction than his first, to perform their 2022 collaboration ‘Both Sides of a Smile’.

From there, it was hit after hit. Location gave way to a message on the big screens: “London, some of you have been here from the very start. 2016… Why don’t we take a trip down memory lane, see what our world was like ten years ago.” Dave’s band struck up ‘Thiago Silva’ to the tune of The White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’, the crowd chanting along before Dave asked, grinning: “London, should we throw it back then?,” and duly delivered. Renditions of ‘No Words’, ‘Professor X’, ‘Funky Friday’, and more followed.

A tradition on this tour has been Dave freestyling over a classic from each city he plays. Tonight, he chose to do something different. “I don’t want to be arrogant,” he said, before launching into his now-iconic 2015 Street Starz freestyle, with much of the crowd going bar-for-bar with him. Blake then emerged for a third time, this time for ‘Selfish’ – this was the first occasion he and Dave had performed both ‘Selfish’ and ‘History’ together live. Dave closed the moment by picking up a guitar and extending the outro into a lengthy, tender instrumental, a well-received (if slightly self-indulgent) showcase of his newly acquired skills.

Next came the title track, ‘The Boy Who Played the Harp’, and it was perhaps the highlight of the night. As Dave traced his journey of self-examination and growth, much of the largely twenty-something crowd seemed to follow him inward, recounting his struggles as though they were their own.

To close, Dave went triumphant: Sprinter, then his most recent number one, Raindance – detonating in confetti cannons, fireworks and pyrotechnics – before ending on Starlight, a tender and grateful final note.

That said, there were minor blemishes. The large screens, useful as they were, occasionally formed a wall that obscured Dave from parts of the crowd. And during The Boy Who Played the Harp, he briefly stumbled over his lyrics before recovering, though few seemed to notice.

But for his first night back in London, Dave did what the occasion demanded: he took the crowd down memory lane, thanked them for a decade of loyalty, and delivered a show that moved between euphoric chart-toppers and decade-old deep cuts with complete ease. The real fans, and there were many, left with everything they came for, and then some.

4.5/5

Words: @020sik

Photo Credit: Andrew Timms + Theo Batterham