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Image: Vasili Papathanasopoulos.
Following an eleven month delay, Canadian phenomenon The Weeknd made his long awaited return to Sydney - having last hit our shores in 2016 on his Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour. For context, the After Hours til Dawn Tour commenced over two years ago and has already reached over three million fans across North America, Europe, Latin America, and now Australia. With no end in sight, The Weeknd has confirmed the tour will reach Africa, Asia, and the Middle East before its final bow.
Upon entering Sydney’s Accor Stadium, an electrifying energy pulsated through the air. Tens of thousands of fans flocked in for the sold-out performance, and were immediately absorbed in the scale of the After Hours til Dawn Tour. Sitting at three metres high, the stage ran the length of the stadium floor and an industrial castle was perched in the centre of the catwalk. It’s here fans catch their first glimpse of the global superstar, as he appears on the castles third level performing The Crowd, and a visual of a door opening the castle up to the crowd appears behind him. Dancers shrouded in red cloaks begin to descend upon the colossal stage. Immediately the musicians inimitable vocals boom throughout the stadium, transfixing his audience and luring them in with his smooth and effortless runs. As he descends from the three-tier structure, he plays through songs including After Hours, Too Late and Take My Breath.
To date, The Weeknd has five studio albums, three mixtapes and more releases under his belt - leaving a vast array of material to pull from when curating a setlist. The mammoth setlist is made complete with forty songs, serving to an overall narrative that captures The Weeknd’s dynamic artistry. He often questioned, “Well how far back in XO history do you want to go?” There’s hits [Can’t Feel My Face, Starboy, I Feel It Coming, Dancing in the Flames], fan-favourites [House of Balloons, The Hills, Heartless, Call Out My Name, In Your Eyes] and even a live debut in the form of One Of The Girls - a track penned for the musicians controversial HBO program, The Idol.
Images: Vasili Papathanasopoulos.
With each song, the musicians vocals went from strength to strength, never faltering. His pitch-perfect performance was exemplified by his ability to create new ad-libs and runs, often including “Sydney” within the songs performed. The shows live mix is a perfectly balanced explosion of sound, with The Weeknd’s vocals always taking centre stage and never feeling overpowered by the textual dynamic soundscapes that surrounded him. His intense stage presence helped create a deeper connection with his devoted audience, as he strutted down the length of the stage providing each audience member a chance to catch a closer glimpse of their idol. I continued to note he barely seemed to break a sweat, darting across the stage and delivering soaring notes. The crowd never missed a beat, passionately singing along to each song and dancing. No matter the pace of the song, the audience match the energy that seeps throughout the stadium and echoed the musicians own presence and ability to engage with his audience.
Throughout the evening fireworks grumbled atop the stadium and flames erupted from the stage. Engaging visuals were displayed on the screen, helping to build the almost dystopian world triggered by the castle-like structure that stands tall on the stage. Red and aureate lighting often flooded the stage, occasionally deviating into further colour palettes. The cameras that beamed the musician onto the stadiums screens offered differing and unique views of key moments throughout the set, and often pivoted to showcase fans singing and dancing along on screen. One of the most beguiling shots is of The Weeknd exiting the castle, his silhouette emerging on to the stage.
As we neared the end of the evening, the musician asked the audience; “Sydney, we don’t care about curfew do we?” He then proceeded to tell the roaring crowd that this was the “best show of the tour.” From there, Accor Stadium was transformed into a listening party with The Weeknd playing an unreleased song from his forthcoming record, Hurry Up Tomorrow. Seemingly titled Open Hearts, the dance-led track is built upon a driving electronic beat. The musician did not sing-a-long, he instead removed his in-ears and soaked up the moment, experiencing an in-person reaction from his fans. To end the evening, The Weeknd perfomed his global hit, Blinding Lights, followed by Dancing in the Flames and Moth to a Flame.
The After Hours til Dawn Tour is a cultural phenomenon and large-scale spectacle. Transporting audiences to another realm through the music, production and visuals. The cultural impact of the After Hours til Dawn Tour will linger within the live music scene, and sets itself as one of the years most engaging tours.
The Weeknd will wrap up his Australian tour with a second sold-out performance in Sydney tonight.
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