To say I was anticipating this concert with much excitement is putting it very mildly indeed. The Weeknd is at the tip top with Prince, Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson, in my musical obsessions. His music has, no lie, helped me endure the hardest times of my life. I will be forever indebted to Abel. Until the second leg of the After Hours Till Dawn tour, The Weeknd performed the same set-list across all performances in a tour. The show that I saw in Manchester in 2013 was replicated on every other show of that tour. There are positives to this - for one I am able to relive the Manchester concert with this recording of the Los Angeles performance. On the whole though it hinted at a certain insecurity in The Weeknd's performances, and resulted in a certain redundancy in watching or attending more than one date on a tour. In freeing himself from his perfectionist streak, and letting himself jump around his discography at different gigs, The Weeknd has become the performer and artist he was always destined to be.
The Weeknd took the stage dressed all in white, with a mask inspired by the late MF Doom. From start to finish, Abel took us through his entire career, representing every era for the first time since 2015; a dizzying array of the biggest hits and the deepest cuts. To see The Weeknd embrace albums like Kiss Land and Echoes of Silence, and to do so with such a virtuoso performance, was joyful, transcendent and a dream come true. The concert started with the Dawn FM intro, before quickly transitioning into the pounding bass and synth, ominous, purgatory club banger, "Take My Breath". Everyone around us in the Gold Circle in Marlay Park - a beautiful, wide and open space - knew the words to most of the songs, and it was an experience that verged on the religious. It was also great that the band was visible this time around, unlike the first leg of the tour.
"Sacrifice" followed, a song that is so much easier to appreciate in a live setting. It reminded me of seeing Abel perform "Wanderlust" from Kiss Land in Manchester in 2013, a song that previously hadn't quite gelled for me. When you feel the bass, it suddenly becomes clear. The Weeknd's vocals were impeccable, his voice soaring, delivering every hook and nuance that exists within these incredible songs. It is remarkable just how many of these songs were hits, and even more so, their depth and variety and the unquestionable quality within.
For many years, The Weeknd hardly mentioned Kiss Land. Although it was reviewed quite well, it did not sell. He didn't play any of the songs in concert and he didn't acknowledge it. And then in the middle of the first year of the pandemic something happened. Hardcore XO fans made a concentrated effort and got it to #1 on the charts. Abel was so moved that he put out a special episode of Memento Mori (his Apple Music radio show), which featured outtakes and demos from the Kiss Land sessions. Then he made a promise: when the pandemic was over and the delayed tour began, he would feature Kiss Land on the set-list. When the After Hours Till Dawn tour began, it was revealed that The Weeknd performed the title track from that masterpiece. It was a thrill to see those shaky videos on YouTube. Fast forward to the release of Live at Sofi Stadium on HBO, in March of this year, and we finally got to see the entire show in great quality. When he says, "this is for the OG XO fans" I lost it! I have watched the concert film more times than I can remember, and I was hoping and praying that my concert would live up to it. I needn't have worried.
The Weeknd's performance at Marlay Park at the end of June was the greatest I have ever seen from him, and honestly, from any performer. And I've seen Prince! By freeing himself from the obligation to perform the same songs in the same sequence, it transformed each concert into a unique work of art. Many of the transitions remained, as did the spine of the set-list of the first leg of After Hours Till Dawn, but throughout, there were songs that haven't been performed in a decade, and one song from Kiss Land that has *NEVER* been performed before!
To hear "Tears in the Rain", during the closing moments of the concert was something that I will never forget. For Abel to embrace Kiss Land to this degree, is something that I never thought I'd see. I imagine that there were many younger XO fans in attendance on that day whose ears were opened to the brilliance and wonder of Kiss Land. "Tears in the Rain" was played over the outro of the biggest Billboard hit of all time, "Blinding Lights", its sparse beauty never more apparent.
They all feel the sameAdjust to the fameCause no one will love you like herIt's pointlessLike tears in the rainSo now that she's goneEmbrace all that comesAnd die with a smileDon't show the world how alone you've become
If this concert and upcoming third entry in the second trilogy, is truly to be the final outing for Abel Tesfaye's alter ego, The Weeknd, then it could not have been a better summation of the unbelievable run of great albums and legendary performances. This tour and this concert are surely to be remembered as the peak of his career. I hope that Abel continues to record music and perform, but even if not, this could not possibly be a better conclusion to the story.
- Dawn FM
- (Gesaffelstein & The Weeknd cover)
- (Kanye West cover)
- (First half only)
- (Drake cover)
- (Future cover)
- (Live debut)
- (Played during Blinding Lights outro)
- (Metro Boomin cover)
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