Project Description

THE WEEKND

@ QUDOS Bank Arena

2 December 2017

Live Review

Reviewer Dana Hashem

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The Weeknd / Photo – Wendy Robinson

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The time has come for The Weeknd to make his Australian debut. He has been long due to tour here and when Live Nation announced Starboy: Legend of the Fall tour, you knew this was going to be huge!

The soulful pop-r&b star Abel Tesfaye, also know as The Weeknd graced Qudos Bank Arena with an incredible performance on Saturday night.

I first got introduced to Abel back in 2014 when he released his mixtapes for free on SoundCloud. Back then his sound was special and unique, with House of Balloons, Thursday, and Kissland being my favourite records. This alternative ‘dark rnb’ genre is what his earlier records were all about. With his latest record Starboy, Abel is now recognized as an 80’s pop rock inspired artist, with critiques often calling him the Micheal Jackson of this generation. His angelic voice has proven to be pure talent as his performance on Saturday was well above my expectations.

Joining Abel on his Australian leg of the tour “Phase two” is French Montana and Nav. Nav is on the XO label and came on stage in a track he features on with Abel. While French performed his hit with Swae Lee, Unforgettable. French did however open half an hour before Abel hit the stage, however his performance was messy and rushed, so him coming back on stage during The Weeknd’s set was redeemable.

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French Montana / Photo – Wendy Robinson

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Being an ‘OG’ fan myself, I was hoping The Weeknd would perform an equal amount of his old and new records. But it was completely understandable that this is the Starboy tour, so I was definitely satisfied when he acknowledged that he will play a few tracks from House of Balloons, now known as Trilogy (which is divided up into 3 of his mixtapes). Abel performed The Morning and Wicked Games. These tracks were most definitely recognized by the ‘OG’ fans, proving that not everyone was only there for Can’t Feel My Face or The Hills, which are The Weeknd’s most recognized hits. Although tracks like High For This and The Birds Pt. 1 were left out, I think I was satisfied.

The Weeknd performed a decent collection of Starboy, and in saying so I loved the fact that he opened the show with Starboy, it set the vibe right. The Weeknd performed full length tracks and some ‘medley’s’ and I thought that was cool. I appreciated Abel playing allot tracks from Beauty Behind The Madness, a record which was released back in 2015. Tracks like Acquainted, Angels, Tell Your Friends, In The Night and a single that he released back in 2014 that was a favorite of mine Often. This record is what made The Weeknd the The Weeknd as it includes many of his biggest top charting hits.

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The Weeknd / Photo – Wendy Robinson

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The Weeknd is an incredible artist and his humble beginnings shined through his performance. Abel proved his passion through his singing, his stage presence and the ability to leave you feeling emotionally attached at the end of the show. I knew this show was going to special, but not like this. The stage also had this really cool feature, a tilting triangle shaped machinery that hovered and moved as the set prolonged, this complemented the theme for the Starboy tour.

The Weeknd has and will always be my favorite artist as he continues to be different than the rest. “It just seems like n***** tryna sound like all my old shit” a lyric that stands out in his track Reminder that proves that what The Weeknd did with his mixtapes like House of Balloons, no one else can do. But now with   Starboy and this whole 80’s era that he is reintroducing, I cannot wait to see what more The Weeknd has in store for future releases. I most definitely recommend to check out the rest of his tour whilst he is still in Australia and I will actually be heading to Brisbane for his show there. Many thanks to Live Nation for providing me with this experience and most importantly bringing the Starboy tour to life in Australia.

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Check out Wendy Robinson’s gallery of this show HERE

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