The Weeknd brought the “After Hours til Dawn” Tour to NRG Stadium in Houston and it was a night to remember.
Saturday was the first of two shows in Houston and it felt like the entire city came to show out. As soon as you arrived at the venue fans were lined up in their best Weeknd inspired outfits, from music video costumes to tour outfits, everyone came dressed to impress. Outside the venue there were photo booth opportunities as well as merch stands, fans waited in line to get the perfect picture and merchandise before gates opened.
As soon as the gates opened to enter the stadium, attendees cheered in excitement. They scanned their tickets to go in, grabbed their After Hours till Dawn tour light up bracelets and proceeded to their seats. Once fans entered the stadium, they got their first glimpse of what was to come. The stage was beautifully laid out, a giant statue stood in the middle and screens and speakers surrounded the stadium. Support for the night included Mike Dean and Playboi Carti.
It was finally time for the show to start. The lights dimmed and slowly dancers dressed in all red emerged followed by The Weeknd himself. The entire stadium cheered in excitement, the set started with “The Abyss” followed by “Wake Me Up” and “After Hours”. These first songs had fans giving it their all, screaming and singing along not missing a single word – it was pretty incredible to see. The next song that followed was “Starboy” and wow, was that one of the loudest I’ve ever heard fans in a venue, everyone immediately started singing along to one of the catchiest songs ever. The Weeknd proceeded to thank everyone for coming out to the show before playing songs such as “Heartless”, “Kiss Land” and “Often”.
The stage setup included giant catwalks as well as a “B-Stage” and as the show went on, The Weeknd made use of all the space he had available. Fans across the venue were able to get a chance to see him close and personal. The show included multiple memorable moments that had fans going “Woah”. The production of the tour was the biggest factor, during “São Paulo” lasers surrounded the stadium while flames lit up the stage on and off, the entire crowd was dancing their hearts out. During “Timeless” and “RATHER LIE” The Weeknd brought out Playboi Carti and they performed together, having the audience cheer them on. The Weeknd took time to talk to fans and mentioned how he was going to keep coming back to Houston as we were such a loud and supportive crowd.
One of the best parts of this show was that The Weeknd sang songs from his entire discography, from “Beauty Behind the Madness” to “Starboy” to “Hurry Up Tomorrow” – there was something from every era for every fan. The show slowly started coming to an end as more and more of the hit songs played such as “Die for You”, “Save Your Tears” and “Blinding Lights”. The Weeknd took time to thank everyone for coming out to the show and supporting him throughout his career. The set ended with “Moth to a Flame” where fans gave it their all. The show is one that people are going to remember for the rest of their lives. We can’t wait to see what’s next for The Weeknd.
THE WEEKND
Photos + Review by Michael Perea | Exclusively for Music, Why Not!