For the first time, Grammy Award®-winning and multi-platinum selling music artist THE WEEKND toured Australia as part of his critically acclaimed Starboy: Legend of the Fall 2017 World Tour. The Canadian artist also known as Abel Makkonen Tesfaye bought a collection of young hip hop artists with him.
First artist Lil Panda launched straight into a heavy hitting drum beat mashup that got the crowd instantly on side. Songs such as Rae Sremmund, Black Beatles, Drake, Hotline Bling and Kayne’s Mercy mixed with Post Malone Rockstar with an energy and intensity that lifted the energy in the room to next level.
After a short break, rapper Nav hit the stage, with a slightly more laid back style but still with intensity and attitude. The background visuals were sketchy and perfectly complemented the hip hop style of music. The crowd interaction was a special note; Nav clearly knows how to work a crowd and clearly enjoys himself on stage.
Third act up were French Montana, a collection of New York style rappers who hit the stage as a montage of rappers from the last decade were projected on the screen. With a female DJ with attitude, these guys were clearly out to impress. Again the crowd interaction meant that the intensity of the audience just got bigger and better. This is how we do it.
Finally the stage is darkened and a giant triangle shaped lighting rig is lowered to and the stage is lit up and The Weeknd runs out and begins with his latest hit Starboy. The crowd goes wild and all phones are out to record the moment. Dressed in black jeans, distressed denim jacket and white hi-tops, The Weekend commands the stage from the get go. Even in the stalls, the crowd are instantly on their feet, dancing.
The stage changes to red and blue and the light show is simply amazing. With a backing band consisting of drummer, keyboards and guitar, tucked away at the back of the stage all focus is on the The Weeknd as he master the art of commanding a stage and the art of a subtle expression conveying so much meaning.
Lights played all across the stage from every vantage point, either in a blaze of colour or a dramatic sharp contrast. The triangle rig also played a big part in the stage set up, as a solo performer there was plenty to look at.
With an impressive four albums under his belt, there was no shortage of material and even Nav came back to make an appearance for a duet.
The more recent songs from the Beauty behind the Madness album were defiantly the more popular, with Wicked Games and Angel the standouts. A black and white projection of Tesfaye performing was a nice touch.
In the Night was another crowd pleaser before hitting the smash hit I Can’t Feel My Face. By now the crowd had shone phones like torches, danced till their feet were sore and sung along at the top of their voices.
The final song was the Daft Punk collaboration I Feel it Coming and the stage goes dark. Suddenly it explodes in a flash of red light and the encore fittingly, is The Hills. The Weeknd shows that he is a polished performer with a voice of an angel who has a sophisticated stage presence.
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