Vancouver, BC – Akon stopped off at Vancouver’s Harbour Event Center the other night on one of his Canadian pre-“Stadium” Promo shows. Getting ready to launch his official tour for his new album “Stadium”, Akon was ready to give the fans in Vancouver all he had. With a full set of openers to get the energy pumped up that included Nick Talari, Juvi Dizzle, B.A.E., and Peter Jackson, it was Karl Wolf that got the atmosphere especially primed for Akon to hit the stage.
Lighting it up with his hit “Africa” right off the bat, Karl immediately snagged the crowd’s attention. Karl was quick to divulge snippets of his life story, how to pick up a girl in Dubai (followed by his track “Yalla Habibi”) to literally giving the shirt off his back to a fan, he had almost as much stage presence as the main act himself.
Akon hit the stage to a rush of screams and lit up cellphones launching straight into “We Takin’ Over.” He spun right into “I’m so Paid” and “Ghetto” before launching into a bit of a monologue about making the decisions we do because we have to, not because we want to which led into “Sorry, Blame it on Me.” Arguably a bit of a deep foot to get off on, but it was a welcome respite from the usual “manly stage banter” of others.
Hummin’ on the energy and his vibes, Akon was quick with the compliments about Vancouver, its people (specifically the women) and his “day one fans.” Working his banter in between songs seamlessly into the next song on his set, “Wanna pick us these fine single ladies? Just sing ’em this,” as he launched into “I Wanna Fuck You.” Ready to give the fans what they wanted, Akon spun all those dance-worthy tracks he’s famous for into one pretty solid set list for long time fans and newer Akon-ians – going from “Right Now” to “Angel” to “Sexy Bitch.” After giving his fans a dream show, possibly the most notable part of the evening was only minutes from the show of the finale where Akon spoke openly about his gratefulness to the fans for supporting him in his music which he says has allowed him the ability to do what he loves, have a comfortable life and give new opportunities to others less fortunate. He also encouraged everyone in the crowd after the show to go and register on his website to be able to stream all previous Akon music as well as any new music for free and as often as they want.
Whether Akon’s music is your bag or not, there is no denying he’s an authentic dude just trying to give his fans what they came for and do a little something extra while he can.
Photos by Noah Herzog