Live Report: Post Malone at 3Arena

All eyes were on American rapper and singer Post Malone tonight as he kicked off the first leg of his European tour at 3Arena.

Bass heavy intro music announced the singer’s arrival on the stage, as everyone whipped out their phones to catch moments from his opening number ‘Broken Whiskey Glass’. Smoke encased the stage as Post Malone dynamically sang before rounding off with “What the fuck is up!”

The Texas-raised musician stood front and center on the walkway-like, minimalistic stage wearing a jacket with ‘Posty’ embroidered on the front and ‘Ireland’ stitched on the back as he belted out lyrics like, "I'ma put that bitch pussy in a motherfucking bodybag / So you know that I'm never coming back." 

“I just want to say thank you to you guys. Y’all are the first stop on this tour… If I suck ass don’t judge me,” shouted Post Malone to the screaming, sold-out audience after ‘Over Now’.  He followed these opening songs with an energetic performance of ‘Better Now’, as yellow, strobing lights encompassed him. At this point it became apparent that backtrack, pre-recorded vocals were doing him some favors, but it was still clear that he could do the tracks justice on his own.

Post Malone took a short break to address the audience, starting off a resounding chant of “Dublin! Dublin!” before he went on to say, “I’m sweating my dick off… I’ve been working very, very hard.” This enthusiasm for his music and fans shows, and permeated throughout his entire set.

After this, he performed ‘Candy Paint’, ‘Same Bitches’ and ‘Psycho’, only periodically stopping to take sips from his red solo cup. The audience jumped up and down as some threw their drinks in the air, which felt appropriate for the occasion. He followed these up with ‘I Fall Apart’ and then lit up a cigarette, noting that he had been told every cigarette he smoked would cost him $4,000 (in fines) and said “that is officially the most expensive cig I’ve ever smoked.”

Post Malone mentioned that it was the 35th anniversary of Luke Kelly’s death as the audience cheered. The mood of the concert shifted as he grabbed a guitar and sat down in a single spotlight to perform ‘Stay’, ironically followed by his song ‘Leave’, which was punctuated by pulsing guitars and drum beats.

In a self-deprecating tone, Post Malone said, “This next song is probably my only good song, so you better enjoy it while it fucking lasts,” and sang the breakout hit ‘White Iverson’, which put him on the map in 2015.

He concluded the concert with lively renditions of ‘Rockstar’ and ‘Congratulations’, during which he shouted out rapper 21 Savage, who was recently detained by ICE before being released on bail.

“Most of y’all have probably probably heard this before, but the message still stands,” said Post Malone during his last moments on stage. “A lot of people are gonna talk down to you… but fuck ‘em, right?”