Post Malone's BIG ASS Stadium Tour brought tens of thousands of fans to the West Valley for nearly two hours of an eclectic mix of music from the artist's catalog.
Though his debut country album, "F-1 Trillion," was released in August, Malone played hits from his decade-long career in a mix of genres, including "Rockstar," "Circles," "Sunflower" and "Congratulations," the encore song.
The stage setup was fairly basic, especially compared to other recent State Farm Stadium shows like The Weeknd on May 9 and Kendrick Lamar and SZA on May 27.
The central part of the stage held the artist's band along with trappings of highway iconography like road signs and streetlights. Above the action, a giant neon sign read "Posty Co." On either side of the stage, giant screens allowed the upper levels to see the action and retro-style neon signs were reminiscent of vintage Las Vegas.
Malone spent most of the show walking up and down a T-shaped catwalk to sing and chat with the crowd, and hopped on a guitar for a cover of Morgan Wallen's "I Ain't Comin' Back." (Wallen is the next artist to perform at State Farm Stadium; he'll be in Glendale for two nights on July 17 and 18.)
Here are some notable moments during Post Malone's June 21 show at State Farm Stadium:
No Jelly Roll
Reading comprehension is important, folks. When the tour was announced in November, it was clear from the list of shows that rising country star Jelly Roll would not be at all of the dates, including, unfortunately for us, the State Farm Stadium show. And yet, we heard and saw plenty of grumbling at the concert and online both before and after the show, like it was a new development.Still, the presence of Jelly Roll was felt when Malone performed "Losers," his ballad off "F-1 Trillion" that includes a Jelly Roll feature. Before starting the song, Malone stopped to tell the crowd that he had spoken with Jelly Roll earlier: "He told me today, 'Tell them crazy motherfuckers in Arizona I fucking love 'em so much.'"
Instead of Jelly Roll, the Arizona audience got Wyatt Flores and Chandler Walters as openers, who turned in solid sets before the main event. Flores, who local fans last saw at Extra Innings in Tempe on Feb. 28, delivered the highlight of the opening acts with a heartfelt cover of The Fray's "How to Save a Life."
So much pyro
We get it: A well-timed fireball really adds emotional and visual excitement to a song. That being said, there were so many pyrotechnics during Malone's set that at certain moments, it looked like the whole damn stage was on fire. While it was both cool (visually) and hot (on our faces, like we need this in Arizona in June), too much fire leads to diminishing returns in terms of impact.Casually cool
Some major artists are all business during a show. Not Malone, who sauntered around the stage in a short-sleeved Western shirt and jeans, often holding a cigarette or a red Solo cup of beer in addition to the microphone. It came off as confident and relaxed rather than careless, like one of the biggest artists in popular music was playing at a small-town bar's country-and-western night rather than a massive stadium. "He looks like the guys my uncle used to drink with when I was a kid," my concert companion said. Minus the face tattoos, probably.
#blessed
Speaking of the stadium setting, Malone stopped several times during the show to express gratitude to the fans who made his first stadium tour a reality."I know it's fucking old, but y'all could be anywhere in fucking world and I'm so honored and so grateful that y'all came this evening. That being said, my name is Austin Richard Post and I came here to sing some shitty songs and fucking party while we do it."
Later, the artist thanked the audience again. Cigarette in hand, he said, "I just wanted to say, thanks, y'all, for making this first stadium tour so fucking badass."
The injury
While crouching down to interact with fans, Malone stepped on an unstable surface and fell off the stage. It wasn't a long drop and he popped right back up, but we noticed that for the rest of the show, the artist was walking with a strange gait. A slight limp and a shuffling step were common sights for the second half of the performance, and as Malone walked off stage after "Sunflower," before the "Congratulations" encore, his limp was quite pronounced.While it wasn't an injury as severe as his 2022 St. Louis fall through a trap door that resulted in bruised ribs and a show cancellation the following week, whatever Malone did to his leg was obviously causing him problems. There are just four performances left on the tour between now and July 1, and we hope Posty can rally to finish strong.
Here are a few more pictures from Post Malone at State Farm Stadium on June 21:
