Gig review: Stormzy at First Direct Arena, Leeds

Certainly his entrance minutes a few earlier amid a hail of strobe lights, ribcage-rattling bass and an enormous stage set that has more than a hint of Game of Thrones about it had been impressive, but could grime’s biggest star keep things up for a full 80 minutes?

The answer, fairly emphatically, is yes.

As Big Michael, the opening track of his 2019 album Heavy Is The Head, segues into Audacity, he seems to be kicking back against anyone who had doubted him with lines such as “I change the game drastically/Big Mike cut down Glastonbury” and “When Banksy put the vest on me/Felt like God was testing me”.

The incendiary Know Me From is accompanied by balls of fire and cut-up video graphics before he dips into Cold and First Things First, a couple of tracks from his 2017 debut long-player Gang Signs & Prayer.

The mood mellows with Crown, during which Stormzy, flanked by six backing singers, croons under a giant rotating lighting rig in the shape of a crown, and the back of the stage is opened up to reveal a six-piece backing band.

It’s the pick of a slower section intended to show his versatility yet feels perhaps one song too long.

Stormzy’s humility, however, is touching as he thanks the 10,000-strong audience for patiently holding on to tickets they’d purchased before the Covid pandemic put his touring plans on ice for two years.

Thankfully the pace picks up again with Cigarettes & Cush and Rachael’s Little Brother and the set hits new heights with the powerful Rainfall, during which he dons a bucket hat thrown from the crowd.

Clash is performed with DJ TiiNY on precarious-looking platforms that rise up to the arena’s first tier, then it’s into the home straight with a burst of speed from Big For Your Boots and Shut Up.

After a quick breather while a promo film for his forthcoming third album plays on the big screens, Stormzy rounds off with Blinded By Your Grace, sung gospel-style under a huge projection of a crucifix, and the kick-ass Vossi Bop.

As he stops for several minutes afterwards to embrace eager young audience members, it’s hard not to feel that this had indeed been a “legendary” night.