Post Malone entered the Royal Arena with Bud Light in hand and “I ♥ Copenhagen” t-shirt. He wanted to be both a world star and cozy, but the gig hung somewhere in between.
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Disclaimer: Apropos Magazine received access or a review copy. As always, we share our own impressions — unfiltered.
Six stars
The concert opened with “Reputation” from the Melancholic Twelve Carat Toothachealbum. The whole thing was bathed in dramatic light and big-laden stadium atmosphere that seemed a bit unredeemable -- as if the lightman had been told to turn everything up completely, but no one had told Post Malone to play along.
From there, we quickly slipped into a greatest hits ride: “Psycho”, “Better Now”, “Candy Paint”, and of course “I Fall Apart” — there's still a decidedly TikTok emotion monster, and here it worked. The crowd was in. The cellphone lights were up. The mood was on the verge.
“Lemon Tree” was played acoustically. A moment of genuine presence where the entire arena almost stood still. And one was reminded that Post Malone can actually do something when he turns down the pyrotechnics a little and up his own fragility.
But precisely the opposite happened. In the second half of the show came the flames, the fireworks and the slightly too eager stage choreography. “Take What You Want” felt like the soundtrack to a burger commercial for a festival that doesn't exist. And when Swae Lee showed up to sing “Sunflower,” it seemed more like a gimmick than like a genuine reunion.
There were small flashes of charm: Post Malone took selfies with people's phones, danced like he was alone in the living room, and joked that “White Iverson” is still his only really good song. And it was actually funny. The crowd loved it. But beneath the surface, one began to sense that it was all being held together with gaffa and good intentions.
Reflection
Post Malone is charming, jovial and honest. But the concert in the Royal Arena became a mixture of rock star dreams and a lack of direction. The large stadium format swallowed up some of the qualities that make him lovable. There were glimpses of something big -- but most of all, it was a night when it all seemed a little too planned, a little too soft on the edge and a little too quickly forgotten.
