Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce party on at raucous Post Malone show in Kansas City
The citywide party didn’t end with the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade and rally Wednesday. Post Malone, one of the most popular musicians in the world, extended the triumphant celebration with an unhinged concert at the Sprint Center for about 14,000 ecstatic revelers.
A celebrity entourage including quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce took in the show from a platform on the floor in the back of the arena. Like most members of the near-capacity audience, the athletes danced and swayed throughout the 85-minute performance by the man born Austin Richard Post in 1995.
Post declared, “I’m here to play some (lousy) music and get (messed) up doing it” as his show began. While he sipped liberally from plastic solo cups, only two or three of the 21 songs performed were artistically objectionable.
A rendition of Post’s 2015 breakout single “White Iverson” was preceded by his recollection of the spiteful backlash the song inspired. Post relishes proving doubters wrong, but “White Iverson” is vastly inferior to his newer work.
He’s since concocted a potent blend of rock and hip-hop that’s slathered in layers of glittering pop. Interpretations of blurry hits including “Psycho,” “Circles” and “Better Now” verified Post’s integral role in the gradual eradication of the concept of genre in popular music.
Post’s improved stagecraft matches his artistic maturation. In contrast with the monochromatic angst he displayed during his appearance as the headliner of the Flyover festival in 2018, Post revealed multiple facets of his personality.
Wearing a Mahomes jersey, Post strutted like a bulky version of Mick Jagger and unleashed primal screams before smashing a guitar at the conclusion of “Rockstar.” His abundant facial tattoos accentuated the sincerity of his warm smile as he delivered a lengthy motivational speech.
A sleek stage set, centered on a runway with a mobile canopy, illuminated Post’s delightfully dramatic antics. Stopwatch markers on the live video projections were the production’s sole blemish.
Thousands of fans broke into the tomahawk chop near the end of the concert. Post acknowledged them by making a few halfhearted chop gestures.
Unlike opening acts Swae Lee and Tyla Yaweh, Post didn’t directly address the Chiefs’ achievement. It wasn’t necessary. Like everyone in the Sprint Center, Post knew that his concert made an illustrious day in Kansas City even more extraordinary.
Set list
Hollywood’s Bleeding; Better Now; Saint-Tropez; Goodbyes; Die for Me; Allergic; Candy Paint; Psycho; Enemies; Wow; Paranoid; I Fall Apart; Over Now; Take What You Want; Stay; Circles; Go Flex; White Iverson; Sunflower; Rockstar; Congratulations
This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 8:02 AM.