During His Sold-Out Show At The Bomb Factory In Dallas On Tuesday, Post Malone Shook Off The Haters And Offered Himself His Due “Congratulations.”
All photos by Karlo X. Ramos.
He’s not the best dresser. He’s not the most amazing singer. He’s a decent guitarist with an ear for a hook. But, really, that’s all that’ all that’s consistent about him,
Post Malone doesn’t really fit into any specific music mold. And yet it’s exactly this sonic fluidity — and the interesting ways in which he combines trap, soul and R&B — that has turned the Grapevine-raised performer born Austin Post into the Next Big Thing in music.
And last night, some two years after he first broke out in the wake of his “White Iverson” single going viral and started earning praise from the likes of Kanye West, he came home to Dallas for a show at the Bomb Factory with a clear vendetta of proving him worthy of all this attention, which currently has him boasting the No. 1 single in America and fighting off allegations that such an accomplishment lacks legitimacy.
His fans certainly appreciate him, that’s for sure. Even after doors to the show officially opened, fans endured lines that stretched down Canton Street, up Crowdus Street and over to Malcolm X Boulevard — at which point it snaked on to God knows where – just to get inside the room. There, they were welcomed by an interesting mix of their peers.
Among those spotted around the venue:
- Some coked-up guy in his undershirt who was passing around his one-hitter while crashing into everyone even remotely near him.
- An extremely tall hipster dude who was either oblivious to or not worried about the fact that he blocking everyone’s view.
- A very concerned-looking dad keeping an eye out on his daughter and what she loudly described as her “white girl mob” of friends.
- The many young fans whose too-hard attempts at pre-gaming let to too-loud yells and screams about nothing.
- Normies holding beers and waring sly smiles that acknowledged that they too were ready to get weird.
Following opening sets from Yung Pinch and Smokepurp that didn’t appear to do much for this crowd, fans began chanting for the gold-toothed headliner to finally make his appearance. Finally, at 10:04 p.m., he did, walking out on stage with a beer in hand to iconic crash of Stone Cold Steve Austin’s WWE entrance music as a giant Texas flag was projected behind him onto the venues massive LED wall.
The crowd erupted, Post Malone smashed that beer he carried against his skull and them he proceeded to go through just about every major offering from his still fairly small catalog. Throughout his 14-song set, it was the diversity of Post Malone’s songwriting that really stood out.
When “Too Young” dropped, people went crazy. When the sub of “Go Flex” hit, the place was rocking. When he broke out a rhinestone-covered guitar and drank another beer during a live acoustic version of “Feeling Whitney” — arguably the best performance of the night — he showed off his ability to slow things down without losing momentum. And when he immediately followed that with a cover of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters,” Post Malone showed well why he is winning this current music. Somehow, his music captivates both the streets and your country Uncle Joe at the same damn time.
He, of course, understands this. And, toward the end of his set, he addressed those who refuse to, using an aside to the crowd to bark back at those who claim he’s a culture vulture or the result of some clever industry marketing.
“If you ever have doubts about yourself or whatever you wanna do, just fucking do whatever the fuck you wanna do,” he said during that rant. “People are going to talk shit, but just do whatever the fuck you wanna do.”
And what did Post Malone do? Well, after performing the chart-topping “rockstar” and “White Iverson,” he gave himself a pat on the back by ending his set with “Congratulations,” which left the room with its highest high of the night.
During that final song, it was tough to envision Post Malone’s music as anything less that the feel-good, inclusive and wide-reaching output that it is. His critics may not get it, but his fans clearly do.
They appreciate his emotional vulnerability. They appreciate his bizarre fashion choices. They appreciate his desire to not be confined to a single box. They appreciate the fact that he very clearly is just trying to be himself.
And, in front of his sold-out crowd last night, Post Malone seemed to genuinely appreciate them back.