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The Weeknd At The Greek Theatre: Review

Kathy Zerbib |
September 16, 2013 | 11:51 p.m. PDT

Film Editor

The Weeknd tore up the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles (Photo by Kathy Zerbib/Neon Tommy).
The Weeknd tore up the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles (Photo by Kathy Zerbib/Neon Tommy).
If that OVO and that XO is everything you believe in, you were at The Weeknd's concert in Los Angeles tonight. And if you were there, you saw him dominate Griffith Park's outdoor venue.

His opening acts were scheduled to be Anna Lunoe, Linus Young, and Banks. A note about Banks - she was the perfect music artist to perform before The Weeknd. She has a similar somber tone to her voice and experiments with musical instruments and background sound... just as The Weeknd, or Abel Tesfaye, does.

When it was time for The Weeknd to take the stage, he performed his first song behind a see-through curtain. Fans were certainly not happy with this artistic decision, yelling for him to "Put the curtain DOWN!" every few seconds.

Still, he was greeted with roars of adulation. His first song of the night was "Love In The Sky."

SEE ALSO: OneRepublic And Sara Bareilles At The Greek Theatre: Review

The Weeknd's stage layout was kept rather simple, but certainly not dull to stare at for an hour. His theme was Asian, and cute Asian commercials played on screen in between his songs.

His performance incorporated a great deal of flash effects and bright lights. A small band played at the rear of the stage and he commended them on several occassions, even asking the audience to cheer for them a few times. 

The songs he proceeded to perform included some of his most recognizeable hits, like "The Town," "The Morning," "Loft Music," "What You Need," "Remember You," "Crew Love," "Glass Table Girls," "High For This," "The Party & The After Party," and "House of Balloons." Just as each song started, the crowd erupted into cheers and sang right along with him, which he encouraged.

Tesfaye crooned his way into showgoers' hearts. (Photo by Kathy Zerbib/Neon Tommy).
Tesfaye crooned his way into showgoers' hearts. (Photo by Kathy Zerbib/Neon Tommy).
The Weeknd was exactly himself on stage tonight. He sported his signature messy hairstyle. His voice sounded exactly like it would on his CDs. He made a few sexual innuendos that lit the audience on fire. He brought so much energy to the stage, yet maintained such a level of calm in his voice.

SEE ALSO: The Weeknd Deserves VMA For 'Artist To Watch'

A couple times during the show, he opted to spice things up a bit. In addition to his sexual innuendos (like making a circling motion with his crotch), he added a few visuals to the screen. He sang a song while a video played of two Asian girls in an intimate moment. During another song, girls' silhoutte danced behind him on the screen.

About half-way through the performance, he began to play some songs off of his latest album, "Kiss Land," which dropped September 10th. Some of the songs he performed were "Pretty" and "Wanderlust."

It's truly haunting how much The Weeknd sounds like Michael Jackson, at times. If you closed your eyes while hearing him sing "Wanderlust," you would be shocked at the resemblance.

After he finished prancing and dancing all over the stage for an hour, The Weeknd said his goodbyes and left the stage. Of course, the fans wanted more. Shouts of "Encore!" boomed throughout the theatre, and what do you know? The Weeknd came back out. He did his bows and performed one last song - a definite hit of his - "Wicked Games." The concert simply couldn't end without it.

If you missed tonight's show, never fear. There is another one at the Greek Theatre Tuesday night, too.

Read more of NT's show reviews here.

Reach Film Editor Kathy Zerbib here; Follow her on Twitter here.



 

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