The Weeknd @ Ford Field (7/27/22)
The Weeknd played Ford Field this Wednesday night as a part of his After Hours till Dawn tour. The original tour was set for 2020, but like all tours that year, had to be pushed back. After a few more set backs and changes, the After Hours till Dawn tour finally began in Abel's hometown, Toronto. The Weeknd's original tour was set to hit arenas around the country, but with a Superbowl performance between his original slated date and now, this time all the stops were booked at stadiums instead. To give context, Ford Field has almost 3x the capacity of the original venue the 2020 tour was booked for. Every single one of the seats in Ford Field were filled Wednesday night. As I walked from my parking garage to the venue before the show, I was just a part of a huge group of strangers doing the same. Some people dressed up as The Weeknd, some in club attire, some more casual, but all eager to see who we had fought the traffic to see.
The show was opened by producers Mike Dean and Kaytranada, who separately gave the crowd the building blocks of energy for the show to come. Originally, Doja Cat was set to open for The Weeknd for this tour, but she had to cancel her involvement after needing surgery for a recent tonsil infection.
The stage for the show included a weaving of actual small prop buildings, with a huge screen behind giving the illusion of an apocalyptic sky. At the end of a large runway stage, a moon stayed almost suspended, lit up red. Everything was dark on stage, until the moment The Weeknd emerged, atop one of the buildings on stage and began the show with "Alone Again" from his 2020 album After Hours. Adorned in a mask for the first two songs, he took it off revealing his face to an eager crowd.
One of my favorite parts of the show was the amazing choreography from his dancers, who were cloaked in red fabric and synchronistically walking around the stage. Their ability to dance so perfectly in sync, while their vision was inhibited by fabric over their face was very impressive. The light show was also astounding, perfectly accentuating The Weeknd's powerful vocals.
As an artist I would describe The Weeknd as, emotive, sultry, moody, theatric, visual, and a storyteller, and each of those adjectives rang true of his show in Detroit Wednesday. An artist that will be talked about and remembered for a long time, if you have the chance to see The Weeknd on the remaining leg of the After Hours till Dawn tour, please take that opportunity.
Photos and words by Shelly Duncan
Wide shots taken with Pixel 4A.