Daniel Caesar & Moses Sumney
October 12, 2023
Budweiser Gardens, London, ON
On Thursday night, Daniel Caesar brought his Superpowers World Tour to the Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario. Caesar had the audience both roaring and hushed at his will. Opening the night was Moses Sumney with an intimate and ethereal performance.
Moses Sumney took the stage with a long jacket hung over his shoulders like a cloak. He walked up to his flower-decorated microphones and began enchanting the crowd. Sumney’s performance blurred the lines between anticipation and satisfaction in a dreamlike way; with soft, lingering vocals but sudden changes in key. Numerous times throughout the night, Sumney’s voice would slowly rise to a high note, and he’d leave the note suspended in the air with his vibrato. This would cause the crowd to scream and applaud every time, and rightfully so. There’s a sense of both comfort and openness in the way Sumney moves on stage, where it’s as though he’s dancing to himself but doesn’t mind that you’re watching. It was a truly mesmerizing performance that set the tone beautifully for the rest of the night.
As the lights dimmed for Daniel Caesar, live footage came up on the screens. They displayed Caesar backstage huddling with crew members and seemingly praying. The live cam followed Caesar out onto the stage where he was greeted by an erupting crowd. Caesar opened his set with “Ocho Rios”—the first track on his new album NEVER ENOUGH. During the song, Caesar stepped onto a square platform in the center of the stage, and long curtains were released from above him, boxing him in behind a thin milky veil. Caesar performed from inside the veils for a number of songs—standing still and singing softly while bright lights and smoke moved around him. Daniel Caesar’s music is a space where boldness and gentleness are holding hands, and the stage display for this tour conveys that perfectly. Once Caesar started playing his anthemic song “CYANIDE”, the curtains came down and he rushed back to the edge of the stage, holding his arms out like an airplane.
Caesar then went on to play his first solo song of the night; he sat at a piano and performed “Loose”. Suddenly, all of the crowd’s boisterousness fell silent and then resurfaced as soft voices sang along. Some other highlights of the night include Caesar performing “Shot My Baby” laying on his back like a dead man, the live cam showing couples kissing during “Best Part”, and the audience roaring after recognizing “Get You” by the synth in the intro.
Caesar ended his set with the endearing “Always” and thanked the audience for the night. The live cam followed Caesar backstage once again while the crowd cheered for an encore. Caesar ended up performing “Streetcar” solo from his dressing room to bring the night to a final close. He covered the camera with his hand and the screens in the area went dark.
