The Weeknd’s After Hours til Daybreak tour was dubbed “a journey by a cosmic cataclysm that has erupted and plagued the Earth,” and delivered that it did. Abel Tesfaye packed the 80,000-capacity London Stadium each nights in his first tour since 2016 and his final as ‘The Weeknd’.
Tesfaye’s presence was felt as he burst onto the dystopian stage sporting a stone-coloured bulletproof vest and a MF Doom-style masks, all on the again of his controversial HBO present The Idol which has obtained abysmal evaluations.
The ominous set was genuinely fascinating. Followers have been greeted by an enormous mannequin of a post-apocalyptic skyline with destroyed landmarks together with St Paul’s Cathedral, the Empire State Constructing and the CN Tower from Abel’s hometown Toronto.
On the opposite facet of the pitch-sized catwalk hung a huge fluorescent moon and a menacing silver robotic which loomed over the Olympic Park and shot lasers from her eyes.
Abel’s caramel-like voice didn’t disappoint. He started the two-hour spectacle on a excessive together with his psychedelic dance hit Take My Breath and stored the vitality up all through.
Impressively, the 33-year-old seamlessly crammed 34 hits into the 120-minute efficiency together with Save Your Tears, Can’t Really feel My Face and lockdown anthem Blinding Lights.
The stadium was alive with technetronic lights capturing up into the heavens and bursts of fireside heating up the viewers.
Abel’s discography and pristine vocals have been accompanied by a troupe of Handmaid’s Story-style dancers sporting white capes.
The dancers marched in union throughout the stage, usually worshipping the robotic deity and including to the present’s brooding environment.
With the spectacle of the set, particular results and dancers, you couldn’t assist however really feel a disconnect from The Weeknd, largely due to the masks which lined his face for half the present.
Whereas he ultimately took the metallic masks off, there was little or no viewers interplay, making it troublesome to get a real sense of who the mysterious Abel Tesfaye is.
However, this didn’t deter the mammoth crowd from roaring with cheers all through the gig, together with for Abel’s slower ballads like Usually and Creepin’.
It was a slight anticlimax to complete the present together with his 2021 synth observe, Moth to a Flame, slightly than one in all his larger hits, however general the present was distinctive and in contrast to something I’ve seen earlier than.
If that is Abel’s final outing as The Weeknd, he will likely be leaving the title behind on the prime of his recreation.