Thursday may have been the second night that The Weeknd, Abel, to fans, performed in Philly, but the energy was even stronger than the first night could have hoped to bring. Through torrential storms earlier in the day, fans lined up outside of Lincoln Financial Field in full force, ready to see Abel perform. Although there were speculations of a cancellation or delay floating around online, Abel pulled through, yelling, “No way I was cancelling tonight, I would’ve played through the storm.” This set the tone for the rest of the show, and people occasionally had to put on and then take off raincoats or ponchos that were sold by street vendors outside.
Unfortunately, due to the stage still being wet, Mike Dean, the first opener, had his set cancelled. In classic Playboy Carti fashion, he showed up fashionably late, perhaps due to the rain, at 9:44 p.m., originally scheduled for 9 p.m. Regardless of the short set, only 22 minutes, he electrified the crowd. Carti opened with “EVIL J0RDAN” from his newest album “MUSIC,” which came out in March. Instantly, the crowd erupted in cheers and applause for the rapper, who is best known for his ever-changing style. Currently, he is in rockstar mode, incorporating more grunge-inspired vocals over high-intensity beats that occasionally use electric guitars. Though he only played six songs, he hyped up the crowd for Abel to come out.
Coming out less than 15 minutes after Carti, Abel arrived on stage surrounded by a huddle of his backup dancers dressed in red robes and gold masks. As the singers started filing down to the center stage, he revealed himself singing “The Abyss” with a bejeweled black robe, donning a matching gold mask with bright white lights shooting out of his eyes. In the center of the stage was a golden statue, which was created by Hajime Sorayama, named “Sexy Robot.” Abel had commissioned another similar statue in 2019 for his home, while the statue had originally been developed in 2018 for a Dior show in Tokyo.
Throughout the show, Abel incorporated Philadelphia into his songs, one instance during his song, “Take my Breath,” in which he replaces the original lyrics with, “I want to know if Philadelphia is with me tonight,” along with many other songs in which he wittingly included Philadelphia to connect with fans. One interesting feature he included was a second wristband that everyone received before the show began, with lights that lit up on beat with the songs, creating a star-like ambience in the audience.
Abel made sure to entertain the crowd with effects such as fire shooting out of the stage, sending heat waves to everyone in the audience. He also shot fireworks from behind the screen that captured different CGI video effects and close-up video shots of Abel performing. Abel played his hit singles from the beginning of his career, such as, “Starboy,” “Can’t Feel My Face” and “The Hills.” He also played some newer hits like “Blinding Lights” and “Timeless,” for which Playboi Carti returned to the stage. After they played two songs together, they both told the crowd to give some love to the other, Abel thanked Carti for coming and performing with him.
Paying homage to the recent Super Bowl won by Philly, he shouted, “Philly Birds are you with me tonight?” in which the crowd reciprocated his energy and erupted in screams. At another point in the night, the stadium turned green, with the wristbands following suit, and after Abel finished “The Hills,” he says, “We’re not in the hills right now, Go Birds.”
Later in the night, Abel had walked off after the dancers left the front stage, but the crowd began chanting “Abel,” and he came back out seconds later singing, “Blinding Lights,” which prompted the crowd to erupt in cheers.
To finish off the show, Abel exited front stage into a visual of a stone gate closing, but soon came back out questioning, “Did you really think you were going home? … They’re gonna have to take me off this stage.” He played a few more songs off his album, “House Of Balloons,” and the stage lit up with shooting flames and red fireworks shooting out from the top of the stadium. He ended the show with a collaboration song, “Moth to a Flame,” with Swedish House Mafia. Before exiting the stage for the last time, Abel screamed out to the crowd, “And Philadelphia, I go by the name The Weeknd, and I love you all,” bowing down to each side of the stadium.