THE WEEKND at the Air Canada Centre, Tuesday, November 3. Rating: NNNN
The Weeknds inaugural arena tour showcased a slightly gentler side of Abel Tesfaye than were used to seeing onstage.
The Toronto R&B powerhouse has scrapped the sex tourist and dungeon dom themes prevalent in the visuals during his past two treks in favour of abstract, monochromatic imagery befitting his newly minted pop-superstar status. What remained were thundering, reverby drums, rock-star guitar solos and technically ambitious light displays reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails.
With his three-piece band stationed atop an elevated platform embedded with lights, Tesfaye opened the show from behind a cage-like screen, singing Real Life, Losers and Acquainted from his mainstream crossover album Beauty Behind The Madness, a record that provided the anthems and emotional-journey structure a pop arena show demands.
The slick dance-pop of Cant Feel My Face and In The Night gave Tesfaye a chance to bust sidewalk dance moves, while the dirty, repetitive soul sample on Tell Your Friends a set highlight gave his guitarist a chance to work the main riff into a big, crowd-pleasing solo. The screamy crowd was only familiar with some of his back catalogue, but live staples Crew Love, High For This and House Of Balloons/Glass Table Girls elicited roars of approval.
A string of earnest ballads kicked off with a singalong to radio hit Earned It. This material is easily the schmaltziest the Weeknd has ever produced and, accordingly, the show entered Bon Jovi air-punching territory during the bland Angel, leaving some of us wistful for the balloon fetish porn visuals or anything suggestive of subversive personality quirks from the previous tour.
This being opening night, the show was understandably not as smooth and consistent as Tesfayes singing. A few transitions seemed to last longer than they shouldve, and a pyrotechnic display during set closer The Hills was prematurely extinguished when two fans bum-rushed the stage, danced around like dorks and were tackled and dragged away by security.
The Weeknd is big on impactful drum rolls and leaving plenty of space in the mix for his vocals, which were the real star. Sometimes Tesfaye stood with focused intensity and emoted as if looking into the eyes of an invisible subject. Other times he made the dramatic key changes look easy.
The Madness tour will likely get smoother as it goes on and as Tesfaye and his band lock into a groove, but even its first stop was a reminder that the Weeknd is one of the best-sounding acts the city has produced in recent years, something pop stardom hasnt changed.
kevinr@nowtoronto.com | @kevinritchie
