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The Weeknd Recreated His First Gig Ever — Wearing The Same Exact Jacket

Watch footage of his return to the Toronto club where he played his first show in 2011.

There’s a lyric in The Weeknd’s new song “Tell Your Friends” that goes: “I miss my city, man it’s been a minute.” And you can easily understand why the Toronto-born crooner probably hasn’t had much downtime to visit his hometown. With the recent releasee of his sophomore album, The Beauty Behind The Madness, it’s safe to say he’s risen in the ranks from cult favorite to chart-topping superstar.

But Abel Tesfaye hasn’t forgotten his roots, so to celebrate the release of his new LP, he returned last week to the Toronto club where he unveiled the man behind the mystique for the first time ever.

The Weeknd played a career-spanning set at the Mod Club — the place where he played his first real show back in 2011 — for a concert filmed by Vevo. And to mark the occasion, he even donned the same camouflage jacket that he wore when he graced that stage four years ago — calling to mind that OTHER “Tell Your Friends” lyric, “I’m still rocking camo.” Yep, things have really come full circle.

Abel reflected on the significance of the show on Instagram, writing, "I can't explain the feeling. The first time I ever exposed my face to my fans in 2011. MOD CLUB will live forever in my heart..."

Check out five of the songs Weeknd performed at the discography-spanning show below, courtesy of Vevo:

“Can’t Feel My Face”

No, this performance wasn’t quite so fiery as the one he shocked us with at last night’s VMAs, but it was every bit as lit.

“The Hills”

“I’m in Toronto right now. I’m in my hometown at the Mod Club, the first show I ever played in my entire life,” he told the crowd before kicking off this TBBTM track. “So when this next one starts, I want every motherf—ker in here going crazy.” To prove how serious he was about that, Weeknd even stopped the song mid-chorus and started it over again, telling the crowd to get crazy when that beat drops. And man, did they obey the second time around.

“High For This”

“Toronto, we’re gonna flash back, back to 2011,” Abel said before launching into “High For This,” the opening track of his 2011 House of Balloons mixtape. Naturally, the hometown crowd knew every word.

“House Of Balloons/Glass Table Girls”

Finally, Weeknd threw it back to 2011 once more for the gritty, rock-leaning, drug-fueled track “House Of Balloons/Glass Table Girls.”

“Tell Your Friends”

Yep, he’s still rocking camo.

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