Post Malone, Auckland NZ, 2019

Post Malone

11th May 2019
Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Doug Peters.

Love him or hate him, Post Malone is a global phenomenon. His music is everywhere, whether it be blasting from a passing car, filling up the dance floor in the local club or sinking it’s hooks into your ear canal as part of the soundtrack of your favourite film.

Last nights sold out show in Auckland’s Spark Arena was further proof of that, Malone massively increasing his attendee size, playing not one but two nights back to back in our city’s biggest arena despite having only graced our shores in January of last year.

His music continues to see debate rage in music columns, many declaring that Malone is doing nothing but riding the coat tails of the hip-hop genre, fusing such elements as trap into his music to appeal to the masses, while others claim him to be an unquestionable musical genius. When looking at the stats in terms of album sales, chart positions and streaming numbers it is hard to deny the latter.

But one thing’s for sure, those in attendance last night received bang for their buck, Malone easily able to sell out the venue on the back of just his own name, but instead bringing a couple of international support acts along with him for the ride. While some may not recognise the name Tyla Yaweh, many of those pressed up against the barrier certainly did. Phones held aloft they hollered with enthusiasm for the twenty-three-year-old Florida native who rocked a Wiz Khalifa look with Scarlxrds’ dress sense.

He has been cited as Malones protégé, and last night he was definitely out to prove worthy of it, consistently hyping the crowd before at one point leaving the large runway that jutted into the masses altogether to ride the shoulders of the fans while repeatedly demanding the pit to open up. Pulling out tracks about star signs in the form of ‘Gemini’ and showing off his Jackson style dance moves with his hit ‘She Bad’, Yaweh hands down delivered one of the most physically impressive and exuberant sets of the line-up.

Following close behind was an artist still forging a career that will allow him to step out from under his father’s shadow; Jaden Smith – the son of the rather illustrious actor Will Smith seemingly slowly but surely gaining traction with each new single, the soon to be twenty one year old shunning the acting scene for a few years in favour of a career in music instead. Working the runway, it was easy to see that he can certainly hold his own, the gigantic big screens behind him displaying several of his visually appealing music videos as he laid down tracks such as ‘Goku’, ‘Batman’ and ‘Plastic’.

Smith may not have been last night’s headline act, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him from bringing out a guest of his own; introducing Harry Hudson to the stage for the track ‘Just Slide’ the crowd lapped up the unexpected bonus, the evening at this point almost shape-shifting into a mini-festival. The opening bars of ‘Icon’, arguably Smiths biggest hit to date saw the frenzied crowd scream with delight, bouncing to the beat at Smiths command. While Yaweh spoke of being homeless and building his career from the ground up – a stark contrast to Smith who through no fault of his own was lucky enough to be born into a family that can ensure the opening of doors to whatever vocation he may so desire – there was no denying that both artists have something to say and are putting in the hard yards to get it out there to the masses.

However, by the time the clock hands were past the hour of nine all thoughts turned to Post Malone, or ‘Posty’ as he is affectionately known amongst his followers, hundreds of whom were wearing bright yellow shirts with his nickname emblazoned across the back with devoted pride.

Going for a dramatic entrance a boxed curtain that had come down during stage changeover slowly began to lift, billowing clouds of smoke pierced by yellow tinged lights pouring out from underneath as Malone began to sing ‘Broken Whiskey Glass’, the words almost indecipherable thanks to the sheer volume of the audiences hollering. Revealing a runway whose floor had now turned to grates, allowing for plumes of fog to curl their way upwards, Malone stood in a colourful and unique two-piece outfit that appeared to have been hand painted by local graffiti artists.

Preferring to play with only a DJ, Malone had all eyes on him, an exceptional light show and those aforementioned fog machines his only accompaniment through the just over seventy-minute show. With only two albums under his belt, there was going to be no real surprises in terms of set list, an almost equal helping from both 2016’s Stoney and his last album Beerbongs & Bentleys providing enough material to keep the fans happy.

It’s easy to dismiss Malone as just another artist with face doodles cashing in on insipid music for the lowest common denominator, but while he isn’t the next Leonard Cohen or Michael Jackson, he is a damn fine songwriter who has an obvious ear for music and melody. The self-deprecating party animal persona is what he wears, but take a step back and separate the visual image from that of the music and it is undeniable that Malone knows what he is doing, some of his best work coming from songs that aren’t all about money, girls and flash cars. Malone can write hooks and he can write them well.

Shifting through the sets tracks Malone interjected some of his biggest hits such as ‘Better Now’ which he sang with a burning fire from within, despite his earlier confession of the fact that he was sick, his vocals still holding it down in spite of it. Songs about his car came in the form of ’92 Explorer’, the first of his movie soundtrack songs sliding in with ‘Candy Paint’ from the last Fast and the Furious film. It was at about this point that things went a little askew for Malone.

Taking a tumble as he was making his way back down the runway, Malone fell heavily, his foot in obvious pain; so a chair was brought out and Malone performed ‘Wow’ from a seated position before declaring that neither illness nor injury would take him down. To prove this, he performed a ‘shoey’ ordered the chair to be removed and smashed out ‘Psycho’ with a pronounced limp and the fans loved him for every second of it.

Besides a few genuine appreciation comments and declarations of getting wasted, Malone kept the banter to a minimum, instead using his music to communicate as his image was displayed behind him in sometimes rather startling close-ups.

An acoustic version of ‘Stay’ complete with Malone playing guitar gave a small glimpse into what else this artist can do, but it was soon replaced with the chest quaking bass that had featured prominently throughout the show as ‘Rockstar’ stormed the stage, Malone smashing his acoustic guitar under a curtain of blood red light as if to emphasis the point. The show ended with ‘Congratulations’, Malone’s personal middle finger to all the critics and naysayers, his encouragement of the crowd to chase their dreams in some ways a loaded gun when taking into consideration many of the troubling lyrics featured in his songs.

But make no mistake, Post Malone has got the talent, his bank account proof enough of that. And he ain’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Were you there at Spark Arena for this much hyped pop-rap extravaganza? Or have you seen Post Malone perform live somewhere else? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Post Malone has one more show in New Zealand, tonight (Sunday 12th May 2019) with very limited tickets still available at Ticketmaster.

Setlist:

1. Broken Whiskey Glass
2. Too Young
3. Over Now
4. Better Now
5. No Option
6. 92 Explorer
7. Candy Paint
8. Wow
9. Psycho
10. Paranoid
11. I Fall Apart
12. Up There
13. Stay
14. Go Flex
15. White Inverson
16. Sunflower
17. Rockstar
18. Congratulations

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