Hit R&B/pop singer The Weeknd headlined a sold-out show at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough MA, supported by opening act producer Kaytranada.
Kaytranada helped set the mood for the concert and get the crowd ready. It is hard to judge someone’s stage presence when they are at a turntable the whole time but Kaytranada did the best they could without moving. The crowd was singing along to the songs he was remixing and dancing to his fun beats. It wasn’t a very long set but it was a fun opening act that got the crowd in the mood to dance and build excitement.
It is clear that the hit singer The Weeknd was the reason why this massive stadium was sold-out. At 80,000 seats, that is no easy feat and says volumes itself. Anyone who has seen The Weeknd perform on television knows that his voice is just as smooth and controlled live as in his recordings. He is known for putting on a show from his performances on such things as music award shows and his Superbowl halftime show. The excitement had been building, fans were standing up and screaming before he even walked out or sang a note, even chanting. The stadium filled with screams even louder than the music when he began the show.
The stage setup was beautiful with a giant oversized moon hanging over the end of the catwalk part of the stage and a cityscape design lit up on the main part of the stage and many structures to match. It was a beautiful setup and gave a lot of different points of interest no matter where you were sitting in the stadium. The singer kicked off his set with the hit songs “Alone Again,” “Gasoline,” and “Sacrifice.”
It was a more subdued beginning with The Weeknd staying on the first part of the stage for the first few songs, making his vocals the main focus. There was a whole group of dancers who joined the singer on the stage but they were mostly walking in a line and acting very subdued, not taking away from the fans focusing on the vocals at the start of the show. After the first few songs, the artist made his way to the rest of the long catwalk stage and used more of the setup, dancing his way up and down and on the other two smaller stages in the middle of the catwalk and at the end.
There were other points of interest during the show like pyrotechnics during the song “The Hills.” It was probably a record heat that night but the fans still shouted with excitement when the flames shot up in the air. The fans singing in the crowd nearly matched the volume of the show with hit songs such as “I Can’t Feel My Face,” “Party Monster,” “I Feel It Coming,” and more. The singer has numerous hits that have been played countless times on the radio but the fans were also singing along to the lesser-known songs sprinkled throughout the setlist also.
His vocals throughout the whole night were pitch perfect and sounded just like his recorded music. The Weeknd knows how to put on a show and after watching him in person, it’s easy to see why the show was sold-out, even on a Thursday night. Nearly all the crowd stayed for the whole show despite the late end on a Thursday night and the long 29-song setlist. The fans who stayed got a special treat when the singer ended the night with his hit song “Blinding Lights.”
THE WEEKND
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