Dunlevy: The Weeknd brings the suspense, the heat and the hits in first of two massive Montreal concerts

Ottawa Citizen

6 days ago

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And then, drum roll … with no shortage of dramatic buildup, he removed the mask. Parc Jean-Drapeau erupted. Tesfaye absorbed the moment, putting his palms together in a gesture of gratitude. Chants of 'olé olé olé!' rippled through the sea of people.
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'Thank you so much,' Tesfaye said. 'I missed the Québec accent.'
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'Tabarnac que c'est bon!' blurted a guy behind me, after a wildly exuberant rendition of the funk-soul smash Can't Feel My Face, off 2015's Beauty Behind the Madness. 'It's incredible — and it might be his last show.' (Tesfaye has teased that he may kill off the Weeknd persona after this tour.)
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The guy's name was Tom, 24 and originally from Moncton, N.B. He was having the time of his life, hanging out with a growing crew of new acquaintances.
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Among them was Tatiana Savage, 23. 'I came with a friend, but I'm leaving with 15 new friends,' she said.
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The hits kept coming. A rowdy rendition of the raunchy 2015 single Often and the anthemic ballad I Was Never There (punctuated with bursts of flames — like we needed more heat) were answered with spontaneous chants of 'The Weeknd! The Weeknd!' and more olés.
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'Wow!' Tesfaye said. 'Wow, wow, wow. Merci Montréal. Je t'aime vraiment.'
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To top it all off, there were fireworks — first as part of the show, and then as backdrop, courtesy of Montreal's summer-long international fireworks competition while Tesfaye performed on a satellite stage in the middle of the crowd.
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'It was a liberating experience,' said Australia native Goldie Hendley, 25, on the métro ride home. 'I've been listening to The Weeknd for years. But hearing him live and not only on my Bluetooth speaker was magical.'
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Some fans — this critic's 17-year-old nephew included — were disappointed by the last-minute withdrawal of opening act Playboi Carti from the bill. In what feels like an unfortunate callback to a bygone era, the American rapper (who will rejoin the tour when it returns to the U.S.) didn't make it into Canada due to problems at the border. That also robbed The Weeknd of a dynamic interlude, as Carti had been joining him on stage mid-set to perform their recent collaborations Timeless and Rather Lie.
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Hometown DJ-producer hero Kaytranada filled in admirably, hyping up the crowd with a throwdown of his intricate, eminently groovy club jams.
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