Post Malone’s concert in his native city of Syracuse was proof that you can always come home.
A young crowd came out strong on a hot, late summer Saturday night in September, dressed in cowboy hats, cowboy boots and plenty of American flag outfits. The Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater buzzed with energy from openers Dan Spencer and Muscadine Bloodline, eagerly awaiting to see the Syracuse native take the stage.
Austin Richard Post, known to his fans as Post Malone, arrived wearing a Syracuse University shirt emblazoned with mascot Otto the Orange, jeans and no shoes.
The opening notes of “Wrong Ones” were paired with pyrotechnics so big you could feel them deep into the audience. The opening song is one of many from his feature-heavy “F-1 Trillion” album complete with fiddle and a fleet of guitars, a far cry from his days of braids and rap tracks of his freshman project, “Stoney.”
Syracuse is the third city on the F1-Trillion Tour and is the Grammy-nominated singer and rapper’s first show in Central New York since 2015 at Syracuse University. He addressed the audience early in the evening after performing “Finer Things” and gave a shout-out to his Upstate New York birthplace.
“I was born in Syracuse f***ing New York, ladies and gentlemen,” he said. “Thank you for having me tonight ladies and gentlemen and thank you for coming out. … I just wanted to say how f***ing grateful and honored I am to be back in this f***ing amazing town, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you so very much.”
Post Malone lived in Central New York until he was 10, when his family moved to Texas because his father was offered a job working for the Dallas Cowboys. Though he currently lives in Utah, his family still owns a home in Baldwinsville, which also got a mention during the night.
“I’ve been doing this for almost 10 years professionally so I appreciate it more than I could ever f***ing say and I love you so very f***ing much, ladies and gentlemen, so thank you. From Baldwinsville, we went around the world f***ing twice. Who’s from Baldwinsville in this motherf***er tonight?” Malone asked the crowd.
The rest of the show bounced back and forth between his new country music album and his older rap and pop hits. Could country music and rap share the same stage at the same time? Malone was bound and determined to make it so.
The crowd stood for most of the evening, singing along to hits like “Circles” and “Chemical,” or simply bopping along to the country tunes that may have been lesser known.
Some of the transitions from country and bluegrass to pop and rap songs were less jarring, but others, like “Candy Paint” to “Fallin’ In Love,” or “White Iverson” to “Ain’t How It Ends,” felt like we were transported into a totally different concert.
No matter the genre, however, Malone performed with ease and had fun with both his backing band, The Fools For You, and the audience.
It’s no surprise that some of his older hits got a country twist, including “I Fall Apart” and his encore, “Sunflower,” which both got a heavy dose of fiddle by Lillie Mae Richie and seemed to flow seamlessly.
Other older songs that got a big crowd reaction included “Better Now,” “Psycho,” “rockstar,” and “Congratulations.” These performances felt so emotional and raw that I almost wondered if these songs were the “real” Post Malone, or has he just refined them after performing them for almost a decade?
At 29, Malone still sings about the turbulence of love, but he now also writes songs inspired by his two-year-old daughter, expressing how much he loves being a girl dad. Expect to hear “Yours” at many father-daughter dances at future weddings.
The last country song of the night was the hit single “I Had Some Help,” featuring Morgan Wallen on the album. The crowd sang along, boosting the energy and setting the stage for the final numbers of the evening.
A recurring theme in Malone’s banter with the crowd was a heartfelt reminder: You are loved, you matter, and there is a place for you in this world. After the final notes, Malone kept the love going, heading straight into the crowd to greet fans and sign autographs, staying well into the night.
“Thanks for having me home, ladies and gentlemen,” Malone told the crowd.
You’ll always have a place here in Central New York, Posty.
Fans will have another chance to see Post Malone in Upstate New York when he performs at the Broadview Stage at SPAC in Saratoga Springs on Sept. 23.
Post Malone setlist
- Wrong Ones
- Finer Things
- Circles
- What Don’t Belong to Me
- Guy For That
- Chemical
- California Sober
- M-E-X-I-C-O
- Candy Paint
- Fallin’ in Love
- Who Needs You
- Two Hearts
- Stay
- I Fall Apart
- Better Now
- Psycho
- Losers
- Yours
- White Iverson
- Ain’t How It Ends
- Go to Hell
- I Had Some Help
- rockstar
- Congratulations
- Sunflower (encore)
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content
