Last night was hipster's paradise at Congress Theatre as devotees patiently waited for their favorite Canadian crooner, The Weeknd to perform a compilation of their favorite hits. Each member with their own private list, they ultimately had one common goal--to get an experience to coincide with the mixtapes.
Considering the wait was three and half-hours though, a decent show was well deserved. As an inexperienced Weeknd-er, I took a lap around to get a sense of the crowd.
To my surprise, I realized I was at the heart of a melting pot. All types of colors, creeds and backgrounds came out to the show, yet most were couples. One I had the pleasure of meeting, a Hispanic and Indian twosome who had the chance to see him at Lollapalooza. He was so good that they wanted to see him again. The only difference is, Lolla wasn't behind closed doors. And we were all waiting to see what he had in store for us.
Then, it happened. Everything went dark, touchscreens went sideways, and center-stage was lit up with the night’s superstar. The crowd lit up in excitement, as an uninhibited Weeknd poured out his soul to us.
We were all prepared to recite back to him the emotion infused words we loved. His set featured bangers from his most popular tapes (House of Balloons and Thursday) and he had us all thinking we were competing for a spot on the stage as we whaled and wined. On various occasions we were complemented on our amazing singing abilities. And we loved it.
Ultimately, love was the number one take-away from the entire evening. As lovers held each other close and hips grinded to the beat, we all knew we weren’t going home alone tonight. And if you did, you had someone waiting for you.
That’s how much LOVE filled the room. Fans loved the Weeknd. He loved us. The couples loved each other. We all loved the night.
At the end of it all, he reminded us just how much we loved it during his performance of “The Crew.” “They lovin’ the crew, they lovin’ the crew!” he sang. And that we did.
Good news for Weeknd fans, as today it was announced he signed a partnership deal with Universal Republic to release his first physical project, Trilogy, on November 13th. Trilogy will consist of mixed and mastered editions of House Of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes Of Silence and will also feature new, unreleased songs. I'm intrigued to see what the rest of the year brings for The Weeknd and will no doubt be on the lookout for some of those new tunes that will grace Trilogy. What do you guys think?
What an awesome weekend Lollapalooza was this year. Chicago was filled with entertainment from morning to night. This year, Govia and I got to cover the festival and the after parties. Not only did we listen to your favorite songs from your favorite artists, but we got to talk to a few of them. Check out this Lollapalooza recap that was put together for all of you who couldn't attend or just want to relive the experience. The interviews include artists who took over the Perry Stage such as Bassnectar, Paper Diamond, Zedd, DJ Zebo, and Zeds Dead who talk about what it takes to become an artist and the use of all the production these days. Also, Black Sabbath's keyboardist Adam Wakeman talks to us about the few shows this year with Ozzy Osbourne. This recap also includes many more performances at Lollapalooza such as The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino, Red Hot Chili Peppers and more from after parties at the Hard Rock Hotel. Enjoy!
