Jarreth Wheeler 9:00am Post Review of Post Malone <Add attention grabber, possibly replace> Post Malone started his professional career in 2015 when he released is debut song “White Iverson”. His genre of music varies but is usually categorized as R&B. Unlike the concerts of most modern artists of today who are indistinguishable from one another, Post Malone’s offers an experience that not only distinguishes himself as an artist but also creates a memorable experience for the audience. The concert took place in Madison Square Garden in 2019 during the Runaway Tour. Post Malone did this tour for his newest Album, Hollywood’s Bleeding. This concert is mostly a one-man show. While some artists wouldn’t be able to pull off a solo act, Post Malone truly shined on stage by himself. Through a combination of a powerful stage setup, enthralling stage presence, masterful vocal skills, and an exceptional range of musical versatility, Post Malone was able to pull off this awe-inspiring performance. A stage is not just a location for a show, as in the hands of the right artist it can be made into a powerful tool used to enhance a show tenfold. Post Malone is one such artist who capitalized on a combination of stage layout and effects during the concert to enhance his performance and the audience’s experience. The stage itself wasn’t a grandiose monument to wealth, but instead it was a simple black runway stage with a floating canopy for lights and smoke. While it was not the most glamorous or eye catching, it helped amplify Post Malone’s personality and the dual sections of the stage helped create a tunnel vision of focus on Post Malone. The lights and effects on the other hand helped create an atmosphere to immerse the crowd. During the faster songs such as “Better Now” or “Over Now,” the lights flashed vibrantly as if the audience were in a club, fire bursts were released to match the beat, and the smoke machines released a heavy smoke screen upon the stage. While for slower songs like Jarreth Wheeler 9:00am “Sunflower” and “I Fall Apart,” the lights are solid and hold an atmosphere to mimic the raw emotion being portrayed on stage. And for the slowest song, “Stay,” all the lights were off excluding a single spotlight aimed on Post Malone while he sang on a simple stool. No matter the genre, Post Malone expertly used his platform to create the perfect atmosphere for the audience to enjoy each and every song. No matter how great the stage and effects are in a concert, a lack of personality from the artist will undoubtedly make any concert dull. Capitalizing on his down-to-earth personality and audience engagement, Post Malone ensured that the spectators experienced everything but a dull moment during the performance. Post Malone would engage the crowd personally, through dedicating his songs to the audience before the start of a few songs because “they are the reason for all of his success.” Post Malone would also start off many of his songs during the concert addressing the meaning of said song. In one such instance before performing “Saint-Tropez”, Post Malone said, “A lot of my music is about sadder subjects. Ya know, heartbreak, sad shit. But for this next song I really wanted to make something that was totally just a celebration of life. Just living every moment while you can. Sing along if you can.” Through this example you can see that Post Malone tries to engage and build a connection with his audience for a better overall experience. Post Malone has the reputation as the humble and nice guy throughout the musical industry, which as can be seen, he capitalized upon to create a strong connection to the audience. Not only does Post Malone build a relationship with his audience, but he has music for any and all tastes. He has the ability to perform multiple genres from rap to acoustic, which he showcased though out this concert. As stated, prior, Post Malone is usually categorized as an R&B artist, but even throughout this concert he dabbles in quite a few genres. He starts his Jarreth Wheeler 9:00am concert with “Hollywood’s Bleeding” which is a fast-paced rap song that, like many of his works, use a beat from the trap genre. Later in the concert he performs “Take What You Want” by himself, but it was originally performed with Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott. This song is a beautiful combination of the rap and rock genres where Post Malone not only raps but also performs the more rock-based lyrics with a recording of Ozzy. Directly after “Take What you Want” he performs “Stay.” Stay is an acoustic song where Post Malone sits on a stool and plays the guitar for the audients while singing for the audience without any musical aid. While a majority of his music is rap/R&B, Post Malone was able to keep the concert fresh using his ability as a multi-genre artist. Post Malone does have an impressive versatility when it comes to jumping from genre to genre, but what is even more impressive is his legitimate vocal talent that he took full advantage of during the entirety of the concert. He has a powerful singing voice that goes unaided for the duration of the concert and apparent there was no need for any aid. His control over his volume and tone was unquestionable which can be seen when he was rapping, in which he was able to easily match the beat of the song while keeping a constant pitch. As for singing slower songs such as “Sunflower,” he was able to keep a consistent mellow and emotionally charged tone. Post Malone also used iconic voice tremor which could be heard throughout the entirety of the concert. But whether he needed to sing a mellow tune or jump into a heart-racing rap his vocal power never faltered, even later in the concert he was still going strong. Post Malone’s powerful vocals enabled him to captivate even the harshest of critics. Post Malone was a breakout artist in 2015, and for good reason. Time and time again he has proved his prowess in the music industry and his concerts are a chance to experience Post Malone’s musical talent first hand. His most recent tour, of which this concert was a part of, was Jarreth Wheeler 9:00am awarded the “Best Hip-Hop/R&B Tour of 2020” by Poll Star Awards. Post Malone is a must see in concert and it would be a sin not to experience this firsthand.
