If there’s a better representative of millennial cynicism working in pop music today than Canadian R&B superstar Abel Tesfaye — better known as The Weeknd — well, then I sure as hell don’t know who it might be. Singles like “The Hills” and “Can’t Feel My Face” from 2015’s commercial smash Beauty Behind the Madness depict destructive, drug-addled romances, and their success as chart-topping party anthems feels counterintuitive. “I just won a new award for a kids’ show talking ’bout a face coming off a bag of blow,” sings Tesfaye on “Reminder” from last year’s Starboy, referencing the fact that “Can’t Feel My Face” was nominated for a Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award. On Starboy’s title track, a collaboration with Daft Punk, the singer merges his characteristic sadboy ruminations with boastful meditations on his success, and it has a strange but potent effect — he’s hopping out of Lamborghinis and McLarens, but he’s still looking to kill his pain. With massive neon triangular structures that light up the stage like something out of a Blade Runner cityscape, The Weeknd’s recent live performances look like weird, hedonistic dystopias. So prepare for that. Gucci Mane and Nav will appear in support. D. PATRICK RODGERS
The Weeknd w/Gucci Mane & Nav
