R&B star delivers fiery show
The Weeknd finally put it all together on stage at SAP Center
Selena Gomez isn’t the only one who thinks her boyfriend is sexy.
A large portion of the capacity crowd on Friday at the SAP Center seemed to agree with Gomez’s latest choice in men.
“I want all the women of San Jose to make some (expletive) noise!” commanded the star of the show, Abel Tesfaye, otherwise known as the platinum-selling R&B crooner The Weeknd.
And with that thousands of females made some (expletive) noise, uttering highpitched screams that shock the hockey arena.
It was an impressive display of an artist connecting with approximately 15,000 fans, as he crooned so seductively that at least one woman threw her bra onstage.
Like Wilson-Pickett, Tom Jones, Prince and other libido heroes before him, The Weeknd has definitely got that “it” factor, which causes pulses to race the moment he grabs the microphone.
He’s had that, to some degree, ever since he first broke onto mainstream, as his first single, 2012’s “Wicked Games,” achieved double-platinum heights.
Yet, his career took off so quickly that his live show never really had the opportunity to catch up with his celebrity status. Until now. On his Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour — The Weeknd’s third major headlining trek to date — he’s finally put it all together on stage, delivering a performance that is as powerfully sexy and engaging as his studio work.
Friday’s show was better by leaps and bounds than his previous Bay Area outings, finally providing compelling evidence that The Weeknd might have what it takes to be a top-tier headliner for years to come.
The 27-year-old Canadian opened the show in dramatic fashion, appearing through a stage floor shrouded in smoke to sing the chart-topping title track to last year’s “Starboy.”
He turned up the adrenaline with two more cuts from that album, “Party Monster” and “Six Feet Under,” then ratcheted up the heat even more with a smoldering, sensual take on the explicit “Often,” from the singer’s second studio album, “Beauty Behind the Madness.”
The Weeknd spent most of his time working the long catwalk, which extended from the main stage some two-thirds of the way across the arena floor. There was an impressively large spaceship-shaped lighting rig overhead, designed to go along with the whole “Starboy” concept, but it didn’t overshadow the singer’s megawatt star power.
“San Jose, I’m trying to understand,” he said to the crowd. “Is this the biggest party in the city tonight?”
Oh, yeah, it was. And the party was still going strong as the singer approached the finish line. Most of the crowd had been up and dancing since the start of the show.
His vocal work was often riveting, especially on such slow jams/romantic ballads as “True Colors” and “Angel,” and his dance moves were occasionally reminiscent of the great Michael Jackson.
The end of the main set was absolutely incendiary, as The Weeknd saved some of his best for last, rocking the approximately 15,000 fans with such hits as “I Can’t Feel My Face” and “I Feel It Coming.”