Kevin Bronson on September 18th, 2013

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By Britt Witt

The Weeknd brought his panty-dropping jams to the Greek Theater on Monday, raising every girl in the sold-out venue to her feet as soon as the house lights faded to his entrance. Bathed in the projection of an ominous face, the artist born Abel Tesfaye quietly commenced with “Adaptation.” As the projection veil fell, The Weeknd was exposed, gesturing his hands to the instruments and bursts of light.

Tesfaye has a passion so sincere it could be felt beyond the benches of the 5,900-capacity venue. Pacing the stage with his coral reef hairdo and all-black attire, he soaked up the crowd’s adulation and delivered a performance that, despite the moody nature of his catalogue, was uplifting and seemingly relieving. Given that his recent release “Kiss Land” is an account of the consequences of his actions, The Weeknd inhaled his remorse and exhaled acceptance, never missing a beat.

It wasn’t long before the backdrop of 10 LED screens blasted the amphitheater with Japanese ads and, well, porn. The visuals were familiar if you have seen any of The Weeknd’s music and promotional videos. The innate intimacy of the recordings was replaced by elongated instrumental blasts and alternating tempos while The Weeknd consistently engaged the crowd, encouraging arms waves and inciting cheers. Everyone jumped to their feet upon the first notes of “What You Need,” becoming a choir for most of the song while the rest was hard to hear over deafening screams from girls, à la Beatles circa 1964.

Pauses between songs were occasionally filled with The Weeknd-branded Japanese commercials and grateful praises to his Los Angeles audience. Shouting, “Cali is the mission,” he started “The Morning” pumping his arms to get the crowd to sing with him. A much-anticipated drum solo from “The Great” Ricky was entirely satisfying, turning the focus to the row of four toms and arsenal of cymbals in Ricky’s kit. Introducing “Kiss Land,” The Weeknd took a moment to reminisce over the past year, explaining that for those of us that had not yet heard the song, this is how he wants the first time to be, “with my peoples, everybody here, the lights and everything.” Admitting that he wrote the song in “Cali,” he dedicated the song to the Golden State as he turned his back to the crowd and began singing. All 10 stage screens turned into The Weeknd’s real-time face, giving the whole audience a front-row experience.

As expected, “Wicked Games” was saved for the encore, stripped down to nearly acoustic. The Weeknd again relayed his love for L.A., saying, “Me and my boys worked real hard to be here in your city.” A final favor was to put up lighters and cell phones, giving the amphitheater a firefly-like glow. Although the track would have benefited from back-up singers, The Weeknd proved that he can hold his own and maintain his dynamic soprano vocals for 90 minutes. While there are obvious Michael Jackson and Patrice Rushen influences, The Weeknd perfectly choreographs multiple 80’s themes to pay homage to his predecessors.

Britt Witt is an L.A.-based freelance writer.

Photo by Timothy Norris via LA Weekly; view the entire slide show here.