Music

[Life Is Beautiful 2014]

Life Is Beautiful: The Weeknd brings baby-making beats to the Downtown stage

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The Weeknd performs on the Downtown Stage during the opening day of the Life is Beautiful Festival on Friday, October 24, 2014.
Photo: L.E. Baskow
Chris Bitonti

Abel Tesfaye is intent on getting sexy with Las Vegas, and he is not afraid to show it. Better known as The Weeknd, Tesfaye is the freak-fro’d foreman of a new hipster rap sub-genre dubbed PBR&B, and his ascent from clubs to main stages has been meteoric. During his Friday night performance at Life is Beautiful, the Downtown Stage area was packed with fans past the soundbooth nearly to the Ferris wheel. Tesfaye performs mid-tempo jams heavily focused on vocal runs with content limited exclusively to love and sex, and it took me a few songs to warm up to The Weeknd’s unique sound. At first, his thin beats and minimal padding feel shallow, but I quickly learn he is constantly building, and the payoffs are worth it. When the drums straighten out and the music gets heavier, the Weeknd truly excels. The show hits a high point with a cover of Beyoncé’s “Drunk in Love,” which adapts perfectly to his style. As just one person on stage, I think it’s easy for Tesfaye to over-vocalize to fill sonic space, but it works against such slight instrumentation. While The Weeknd’s baby-making beats will always be better for the bedroom than a live festival, he puts on great show.

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