With some of the biggest hits of the 2010’s such as “212”, “Luxury” and “Liquorice”, Azeilia Banks was ready to wow Scottish fans with her first Glasgow show in 10 years.
The sold-out venue was buzzing in anticipation for the presence of the diva. With no support act for this tour, a DJ warmed the crowd from doors at 7pm until the 9pm headline slot. However, with the same style of “lobby music” playing for hours, the awaiting crowd was losing their excitement. Her 9pm set time was just around the corner, with 5 mins until she was due to take to the stage.
However, as 9pm hit, Azealia wasn’t to be seen. Security informed us she was running late. 9.10pm: no Azealia, 9.20pm: no Azealia. Fans around the venue began holding up messages written on their phones reading “Where is the Queen?”, “AB?!”, “DJ, I hope you’re being paid extra”; but most of the signs held had one word, “REFUND”. It was clear to see the crowd was fed up with the lack of notice or message about her late arrival.
By 9.40pm, rumours were circulating the venue, from the floor crowd all the way up to the stalls. Fans were saying that Azealia Banks wasn’t even at the venue yet, and instead was still in her hotel. This left most fans feeling disrespected, and in turn they started to leave the venue.
Promoters began frantically calling to get her to the venue ASAP, due to the 10.30pm curfew. 10pm slowly rolled around, and with 3 hours of less-than-noteworthy tracks from the DJ, he finally played his last song. A big cheer arose from the crowd.
At 10.07pm, Azealia finally took to the stage, 1 hour and 7 minutes after her show was supposed to start. A shower of phones shot up as fans got ready for the show to begin. In that moment, they seemed to forget the endless, monotonous DJ set and the booing. It seemed she was quickly forgiven as the gig goers began praising the very person that disrespected their time and money, as well as her entire fan base.
Starting the set of with “Luxury”, I was still disappointed. The condensed set lasted a mere 35 minutes. An overall poor show from Azealia demonstrating little apology for her lateness. Finishing with “212”, a small kiss and a handful of gifts for the crowd, it was a night that most people would like to forget.