With all that has gone on in the recent year in the private life of Davido, his reappearance on the public scene, heralded by the ‘Timeless’ album, shocked his fan base. Following that was the announcement of the concert of the same name, it really felt like we were being spoiled by Davido.
It’s safe to say that the Timeless concert was an epic comeback! Davido went above and beyond this time and it was simply unforgettable. But don’t take my word for it, this review will showcase the factors responsible for the success of the event with a focus on the venue and atmosphere, visuals and staging, performances, setlist, and audience engagement.
Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) was definitely a surprising choice. Popularly known for big concerts like the Xperience, there was a lot of anticipation around the set-up of this venue, which could easily be a hit or a miss. I think I can speak for everyone when I say it wasn’t a miss. The stage, in its grandiosity, still found a way of being stretched out into the crowd, so the crowd was completely immersed in the experience. According to the event producers, Toro Entertainment Company, the stage was the biggest stage in West Africa. The visuals on the set up screens went through a bit of technical issues at first, but this normalized eventually. Regardless, commendations can be given to the graphics team, which did a good job with the displays.
The sound system seemed to have its shaky moments at the earlier stages of the show but as the show progressed, it smoothed out. The preceding artists followed a similar theme of singing over their songs, what I’d like to call ‘karaoke performance’. However, the crowd didn’t seem to mind. The surround-sound system, with its crispness, gave the show an edge of excellence that was very appreciated.
The choice of hosts, – Mr Macaronii and Kiekie – were perfect for crowd engagement with their jokes, crowd control games and calls and responses. They did a great job of fanning the excitement of the crowd even as the opening acts performed. Ecool, Iyanya, Sina Rambo, Khaid, Spyro and Softmadeit are all honourable mentions who performed. There was also a surprise performance by British rapper, Tion Wayne.
Davido’s surreal entrance started with darkness before he emerged singing the emotional Legends Can Never Die (LCND), a perfect choice to kick the night off. Stage sparklers, fire and a smoke haze, coupled with the wave of phones with lit torches across the audience, enhanced the moment. After that, he transported us back in time with songs off his previous projects, bringing in acts like Mayorkun, Skibii, Ckay and Peruzzi. A lot of credit has to be given to the live band that made every single song sound brand new. It was very obvious that a lot of rehearsal had gone into mastering the progressions, transitions and timing. There was a little hitch in the performance of D&G, but nothing that we didn’t move on from quickly.
The journey back to the Timeless album was seamless. With three different top-notch designer outfits, Davido stunned the whole night as he and the featured acts gave a performance of a lifetime. The Cavemen, Asake, Fave, Morravey, Odumodu Black and Logos Olori shared the stage as well, turning the excitement up a notch. At first, we feared that the discovered PH artist, Morravey, was going to miss her set seeing as she didn’t emerge the first time around, but we were all relieved as this was remedied by the second try. Although she struggled to keep up with Davido’s energy, which was obviously a teething problem for the emerging artiste, she thankfully powered through.
There was no dull moment, not a song that wasn’t screamed along to. It was only fair that the climactic song, Unavailable, featured choreographers and Davido performing an elaborate dance routine based on the popular Tiktok video, along with fireworks and confetti showers. A truly beautiful night, truly Timeless.
