POST MALONE - MANCHESTER, UK.
Post Malone at the AO Arena, Manchester, UK (17/05/2023).
With support from Rae Sremmurd.
Post Malone is one of the strangest success stories, bursting on the scene with a fusion of wavey stoner rap infused with incredibly catchy pop hooks. Following his 4th studio album '12 Carat Toothache' a UK tour was soon to follow, stopping at Manchester Arena for 2 nights.
Opening the show was Rae Sremmurd, an established duo consisting of Slim Jxmmi and Swae Lee. It was great to have an already successful act support as the crowd knew hit after hit, from their opener 'No Type' through to the banger 'Powerglide'. The chemistry between the duo on full display and good crowd interaction.
It wasn't long after the lights dimmed for the main man Post Malone, rising from the stage as lights sparkled - opening with 'Reputation', a heavy track before bursting with energy into 'Wow'. Posty had the audience in the palm of his hand and the hits didn't stop here. With 4 albums already under his belt, Post has plenty of songs to choose from, dancing his way through 'I Like You' and 'Wrapped Around Your Finger' off his most recent project; before the crowd sung every word to sleeper hit 'Better Now' or 'Candy Paint' from his 2018 offering 'Beerbongs & Bentleys'.
About halfway through the set came the acoustic portion, Post sat at the end of the main runway stage to play 'Feeling Whitney' and 'Lemon Tree'. The former making this writer slightly emotional and the latter being a welcome surprise - albeit at the expense of 'Stay' being cut from the setlist.
The next portion of the setlist focused more on his third project 'Hollywood's Bleeding' with the crowd favorites 'Circles' and 'Take What You Want' - an impressive firework and pyro display closing as Posty embraced his screaming vocals.
Closing the main set was a run of his biggest hits: 'Rockstar', 'Goodbyes' and the Swae Lee assisted 'Sunflower' from the Spider-verse soundtrack (Swae Lee joined Post Malone on stage and handed sunflowers to the crowd).
The encore kicked off with recent single 'Chemical' - having also recently been announced as the lead single for upcoming album 'Austin'. It's a track I've enjoyed as a single and Post performs it with an infectious charisma. 'Congratulations' followed, again closing with an indoor pyro display and Post took in and appreciated the 14,000 in attendance before bursting into breakout single 'White Iverson' to close the show - heading down to the barrier to meet some of his most die hard supporters.
Post Malone performs with so much energy and passion it's hard not to enjoy yourself. Whether dancing along to some of his happier songs or belting some of his sadder songs there's something for everyone and I hope we get another tour after his new album.
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