Three years ago, during The Weeknd‘s initial run of concerts at SoFi Stadium for the After Hours til Dawn Tour’s first North America leg, the superstar was famously forced to stop early after just a few songs on night two as his voice gave out mid-performance. He swiftly rescheduled for two more shows a couple months later, but as Abel Tesfaye returned to the stadium once again in the first of four more sold-out shows on Wednesday night, that moment was still clearly on his mind.
“It’s been way too long, Los Angeles. We have some memories on this stage. I came back with a vengeance,” The Weeknd said as he addressed the crowd early in the show Wednesday. “Four nights, back to back. And that’s because of you.”
Indeed, the vibe for most of the night was mainly triumphant and celebratory as Abel basked in the love of thousands of fans, pausing in between tracks and looking up with a smile as the crowd erupted in cheers. He’s enjoying one of the biggest tours of the year with After Hours til Dawn, drawing a combined 163,000 fans across four shows at MetLife Stadium earlier this month, which per his team, made him the top-grossing Black artist in that venue’s history. These four Inglewood dates are on track for even bigger numbers, with his team saying Thursday that the concerts will draw a combined 200,000 fans.
The night started with some fireworks early as tour opener Playboi Carti surprised the crowd by bringing out fellow rap star Travis Scott, with the duo performing Scott’s hit “Goosebumps” and their smash collaborations “Crush” and “Fein.”
As expected, The Weeknd’s show was a visual spectacle. He started just after 9:15 Wednesday night, coming out alongside red-cloaked and masked dancers, dawning a black and gold outfit and a mask with glowing eyes, with a gigantic gold statue towering in the center of the stage. The crowd erupted in cheers after he slowly lifted the mask after a few songs and finally showed his face. Abel performed more than three dozen songs over more than two hours, focused primarily on the trilogy of Hurry Up Tomorrow, Dawn FM and After Hours, but also showing off older classics like “I Can’t Feel My Face,” “Star Boy,” “Often,” “The Hills,” “I Feel it Coming” and “Lost in the Fire.”
“I know it’s hot in here, but are we fucking warmed up yet,” he asked the crowd after finishing “I Can’t Feel My Face.” Other highlights of the night included a performance of “Kiss Land” off his debut album of the same name, which as he crooned was dedicated to “the OG XO fans on the West Coast.”
Carti came out again during the Weeknd’s set — as he’s done for much of the tour — to perform “Timeless” and “Rather Lie” alongside Abel. Outside of Carti, night one set didn’t include any other guest performances, and the setlist, which also included hits like “Blinding Lights,” “Save Your Tears” “Call Out My Name” and “Creepin’,” didn’t seem to deviate much from previous nights. Angelenos who were hoping The Weeknd would perform Hurry Up Tomorrow’s “Take Me Back To LA” will have to wait, though luckily there’s three more shows for a chance to give it the spotlight.
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