The Weeknd
October 13, 2017
Honda Center – Anaheim, CA
The Starboy boy himself, Abel Tesfaye, better known by his stage name, The Weeknd arrived in Anaheim, CA as part of “Phase 2” for his Legend of the Fall tour. The 27 year old R&B/Pop artist kicked off the weekend with a sold out show on Friday, October 13. Warming the crowd up were artists NAV and Gucci Mane who had the crowd vibing and rapping along.
After a short intermission, the lights dimmed and The Weeknd’s phenomenal production began. The stage featured a catwalk that morphed into the crowd, going almost completely through the entire floor area. Overhead was a huge rig consisting of lights & LED screens; put together it resembled some sort of spaceship. It seemed like one piece, but broke apart during the performance, moving separately and then coming back together.
As the show began, the overhead structure lowered slowly and cheers escalated as it progressed down. As it almost reached the stage, The Weeknd rose onto the stage from the the secret door from below, and went straight into Starboy. The hits came one after another with Party Monster, Reminder, Six Feet Under and Low Life which all followed Starboy in the beginning of the set. The Weeknd kept the first part of his set dedicated to his 3rd and latest album release of Starboy which came out in 2016. 
Following Low Life, The Weeknd jumped into Might Not by Belly and continued with Crew Love by Drake.
The show featured The Weeknd’s band, which consist of Ricky Lewis (drums), Legend ‘LJ’ Jones (bass & keys), and Patrick Greenaway on guitar. The live band always add a different energy to the show that isn’t often felt at R&B or Pop shows, which usually just have backing tracks.
The Weeknd didn’t save the best for last, but played the best all night. He performed Often and Acquainted from his 2nd album, Beauty Behind The Madness from 2015, and while the crowd screamed and cheered at the top of their lungs for every song, they seemed extremely unenergized on the floor, not dancing or even moving very much. It really brought down the energy that The Weeknd provided with his vocals that sounded straight off the album and his little gestures and smiles to the crowd. The Weeknd didn’t talk much, but he did dedicate Wicked Games and The Morning to the “OG XO fans,” from his debut mixtape that was released for free in 2011.
The night continued with one of The Weeknd’s favorite tracks from Beauty Behind The Madness, Angel and the tempo was kept down with Earned It which followed. Very quickly, The Weeknd and his band brought the energy back up with the dancy In The Night which had the audience finally moving around. He kept them energized with a cover of French Montana’s Unforgettable. Following Can’t Feel My Face was a two song encore of I Feel It Coming and the ever popular The Hills.
With amazing stage production, a flawless band and an unblemished voice, The Weeknd made this Friday the 13th a night to remember. While the crowd definitely fell into the “LA crowd” stereotype of being boring and not “into” the show, the XO team definitely pulled out all the stops and gave fans a show to remember.
Review by: Nicole Lemberg
