I want to be as impartial as possible in recapping Saturday’s show at Allegiant Stadium but fair warning, I am a pretty big fan of The Weeknd. From the beginning, when he dropped the mixtapes “House of Balloons” and “Echoes of Silence” in 2011, I gravitated to his music. When he landed the song “Earned It” on the soundtrack to the movie “Fifty Shades of Grey” in 2015 and subsequently won the BET Her Award (which honors motivational and empowering songs that center women), I knew it was a wrap. The Weeknd was destined for greatness.
Since then, he has earned numerous awards and accolades including Top Artist at the Billboard Music Awards, Grammys, and American Music Awards. His biggest achievement came last year when he headlined the 2021 Pepsi Halftime Show.
The Weeknd returned to Las Vegas this past Saturday and took over Allegiant Stadium with his “After Hours Til Down Tour“. As you walked into the stadium, you were met by a huge replica of the moon.
The “Red” theme was prevalent throughout the show from a red moon to the twenty ominous dancers cloaked in red satin. This was more than a concert. It was a display of artistic expression.
What we thought was a video lead-in to the concert was actually the trailer for his upcoming television drama series “The Idol” which will stream on HBO MAX.
He told the crowd, “I promised never to wear this jacket ever again… but if weren’t for you Vegas…”. The stadium went nuclear when he slipped on the iconic red sport coat and knocked out “Heartless“. From the moment the lights went down and the synthesizers resonated until he took his final bows, we were on our feet dancing and singing. There were couples making out… proposals… and some holding back tears from those lyrics that hit hard about past relationships. As someone who has the privilege of attending concerts on a pretty regular basis and has seen a wide variety of performances, I can honestly say that The Weeknd is one of the best doing it.
I met The Weeknd… Look-a-like! Originally from Oahu, Hawaii, Matthew Jalomo moved to North Las Vegas in 2019 and has been turning heads as a look-a-like since dressing up as The Weeknd for Halloween back in 2020.
When asked if anyone has every mistaken him for the real deal, Matthew stated, “If I’m walking around in the costume in public, I get crazy reactions from a far and everybody runs up to me to take pictures. It’s awesome because I get so many compliments on it and it’s awesome because I’m able to connect with all our like minded awesome fans. The XO community is kind of like a tight clique so it awesome!”.
Have you ever met The Weeknd yourself? “I have never personally met Abel, but honestly, that is one of my goals! I’ve tried to get backstage and be charasmatic with the security, but that only gets you so far lol. But I haven’t stopped trying. I’m 100 percent certain we are definitely going to hang out one day.”
As much as I enjoyed meeting Matthew, I still have yet to meet The Weeknd either. Like you said, “…one day.”
The Moon: After Hours Til Down Tour
Red Moon: Art
