Post Malone (pictured above) performed at the Keybank Center in Buffalo on Sunday Oct. 6. A limited amount of tickets were available to Geneseo students through the Student Association Ticket Office, and a Geneseo bus drove students to and from the concert (Courtesy of Ashley Pav).
“Wow.”—Post Malone’s chart-topping hit from his latest studio album, Hollywood’s Bleeding—doesn’t even begin to describe Malone in concert. Playing to a packed KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Sunday Oct. 6, Malone maintained his high energy and dynamic stage presence as the artist sang through a marathon of hits old and new.
“I’m here to play shitty music and have a good night with you all,” Malone shouted to a crowd as they screamed loud enough to drown out his microphone as he launched into his concert with the titular track off Hollywood’s Bleeding.
While Malone was only onstage for a little more than an hour, he covered more than 20 songs without sacrificing their power or impact. No matter what Malone was feeling, he made sure his audience knew it and could feel it, too.
Whether he was jumping around to “Go Flex,” strutting up and down the stage to the song he described as “just having a good time out with friends” or slowly crumbling to heartbreak anthem “Goodbyes,” Malone’s emotions were on his sleeve.
During “I Fall Apart,” Malone spent a majority of the song dragging a microphone stand around stage like it was a heavy weight tied to his ankle, symbolic of the baggage he still carries from an old break-up. As the final notes echoed through the speakers, the crowd was as close to silent as it could get, torn between feeling his pain and being in awe of the vulnerability a performer like Malone—who doesn’t immediately appear very vulnerable—just showed on stage.
Malone reiterated several times that, while he’s made sad songs in the past, Hollywood’s Bleeding was a major collection of some of his saddest songs to date. “Allergic” and “Circles” furthered the narrative that Malone had recently experienced a painful break-up, but what prevented the concert from becoming a pity party for the singer was the obvious fact that performing these songs on stage was a coping—and possibly even healing—mechanism for Malone.
“This is for everyone who ever got their heart broke,” Malone told the crowd as the opening to “Die for Me” played in the background. For certain lines, Malone would stop singing and hold the microphone out to the audience. As the arena belted out “Said you’d take a bullet, told me you would die for me / I had a really bad feeling you’d been lying to me,” a smile broke out across Malone’s face. We got the feeling that his smile wasn’t because everyone knew the words, but because he could tell people understood and experienced his pain.
Every so often, Malone would take a break from his break-up hits for songs that favored happier moments in his life. “Saint-Tropez” is Malone’s ode to the wealth his career has brought in and all the expensive things he’s been able to buy. “Wow.” revolves around the same themes, calling out those who doubted Malone’s ability to make it big. Malone’s opening act, Swae Lee, also later joined him for their catchy pop song “Sunflower,” which was featured on the soundtrack for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Despite most of Malone’s show encompassing heartbreak and pain, he ended the concert on a high note. Malone reminded his fans to never give up on their dreams no matter what the haters say with his closing song, “Congratulations.” The lyrics show Malone’s determination and eventual success when they say, “they said I wouldn’t be nothing / Now they always say congratulations.”
The passion Malone puts into his performances makes him someone the crowd wants to root for. Hearing how Malone made it big despite growing up with so many people who doubted him and his talents can inspire an entire crowd. Even though he makes solid heartbreak songs, watching Malone during his happier songs while he dances around stage without a care in the world makes you hope that he’ll find whatever he’s missing in life. And you can tell he’s wishing the same for you.
“Never be afraid to do what you love, be what you love,” Malone told the crowd before leaving the stage. “Live your dream, live your truth.”