The Weeknd – Spark Arena November 29, 2017

Last night at Spark Arena proved a real treat. Abel Makkosen Tesfaye, better known to the legions of fans and devotees as The Weeknd, proved that he is indeed the current king of modern RnB with his spectacular voice and beautiful stage lighting and visuals.

Kicking off the final leg of his tour in New Zealand before jetting off to Australia, the Weeknd was gigging off the back of his critically acclaimed 2016 release Starboy (titled in tribute to the late, great David Bowie) and was bringing special guest rappers Nav and the better known, and very popular, French Montana.

Sadly I missed Nav’s opening set (thanks Auckland traffic) but was not too distraught about this; his music only made my acquaintance about three days ago but from what I heard I didn’t mind waiting a few more days!

I was able to catch French Montana’s set before the highly anticipated Weeknd. French Montana failed to ignite much in me other than irritation at a barrage of comments such as “New Zealand is the best place I’ve performed at so far on the tour” and “New Zealand, I feel like I’m home”, and along with endless prancing and striking numerous well used hip hop poses left me feeling indifferent at best and slightly bored.

To somewhat add insult to injury, to accompany his lackluster performance, French Montana was accompanied by a set of poor quality visuals as a backdrop. Glitchy, cheap and boring effects really don’t make a lousy set any better.

During American – Moroccan hip hop artiste French Montana’s pack down and The Weeknd’s set, French Montana’s DJ was able to make up for his average performance by playing a set of tunes which were enough to get the crowd partying and dancing before the headliner. A collection that included Man’s Not Hot, Gucci Gang and Bodak Yellow, the real crowd pleasers of the night were Kendrick Lamar’s M.A.A.D City and DJ Khaled’s All I Do Is Win.

Finally The Weeknd took to the stage. Behind him was a backdrop of stunning visuals that bettered French Montana’s set and included a lighting rig in the shape of a triangle that would project on him throughout the night.

Starting his hour and a half set off with the hit single from his latest album was Starboy. Walking around the stage while being encouraged by the cheers and appreciation of the audience, it was clear The Weeknd already had them eating out his hands and that we were in for a great night.

Constantly he yelled out, asking the crowd if they were still with him and ready to get down with the Weeknd, as well as classic concert hype which was clearly was working.

Although not a fan of the Weeknd’s voice…it just isn’t my thing and the whole Michael Jackson style vocals just doesn’t float my boat…but tonight that just didn’t matter. I was absolutely astonished that the lack of backing track allowed his voice to soar and how well he really could sing, so amazing I could’ve sworn he was lip syncing,but he wasn’t.

Bringing out Nav for a duo performance and well as working songs into each other, the Weeknd was proving to be a strong and impressive performer and including his support acts was a classy touch. You just have to respect talent like that and he has it in spades!

Highlights of the night for me were his three biggest hits, Earned It, famously from the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack, Can’t Feel My Face and last but not least, the heart stopping, painfully strong track The Hills which was the greatest closing song I had ever heard in my six years of attending concerts. The haunting powerful synth intro and a dark, emotional set of lyrics, one would have to be made of stone not to feel the urge to clutch the hands close to the  chest while feeling the power of his alluring vocals.

The Weeknd ended his show perfectly, ensuring the crowd that they were amazing and that they definitely deserved another appearance from him in the future and they certainly did.

I have to admit I am a convert, he exceeded my expectations and I really did get totally immersed in the music and was glad I got to witness a true artist entering his prime!

Jonathan Strock

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