<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3wdHvP_0vjT4OT100" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3wdHvP_0vjT4OT100" width="1614" height="1076" ><figcaption>Post Malone performs at Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. ELISSA EBERSOLD</figcaption></figure><p>Syracuse native and rapper/singer/songwriter/record producer/guitarist/actor (source: Wikipedia) superstar Post Malone brought his F-1 Trillion tour to the amphitheater on Monday night, singing a whopping 25-song setlist from his catalog for an even more whopping 22,000 fans, making for a dynamic end to the 2024 SPAC season.</p><p>Starting the evening off was Dan Spencer, an artist I’ve managed to scrounge up remarkably little from the internet about. Spencer’s setlist was short, only a few songs, but in those few songs we got to see some burgeoning quality musicianship from the quartet on stage. They sounded good and filled the space with that same good sound until the next act came on. I don’t know how long they’ve been on the road with “Posty,” but they certainly appeared green to me — a little stiff with the stage presence and banter, things that almost certainly improve with time. It is a band so fresh to the tour scene that I couldn’t even find their setlist.</p><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2UxG9f_0vjT4OT100" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2UxG9f_0vjT4OT100" width="1449" height="1015" ><figcaption>Dan Spencer opens for Post Malone at Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. Elissa Ebersold</figcaption></figure><p>Next up on the bill was Muscadine Bloodline, a country band that very much sounded like the Alabama they hailed from (in a non-derogatory way). Their sound had that firmly-established country twang, and had me scratching my head when they pulled out an instrument that I later learned was a “harmonium,” an instrument found often in Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian countries, especially in Hindustani classical music. There was no raging harmonium solo, though that might have been pretty cool — it blended seamlessly into the tracks that called for it.</p><p>Muscadine Bloodline was more self-assured in the ways they presented themselves on stage — in their energy that continued to inflate the audience’s own, their musicianship, and even how solid and consistent their sound was–unsurprising for a band that has amassed more than 3 million listeners on Spotify. When I was half paying attention, they played a fun song that evoked a strong sense of “Devil Went Down to Georgia” and, lo and behold, that’s exactly what the song was. Their song “Devil Died in Dixie” used exciting and skillful guitar solos to tell the musical story of the Devil biting off more than he could chew the same way “Johnny” played his fiddle in the Charlie Daniels original. However, in the Muscadine Bloodline version, the guitar was simply that: a showcase of guitar skill and not a plot device.</p><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3qawva_0vjT4OT100" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3qawva_0vjT4OT100" width="1555" height="1036" ><figcaption>Muscadine Bloodline opens for Post Malone at Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. Elissa Ebersold</figcaption></figure><p>There’s always a separation of the stage setting and production between supporting acts and the headliners, but Post Malone’s production was a whole other elevated level compared to Dan Spencer and Muscadine Bloodline. Right off of the bat, the audience was treated to massive bursts of pyro and sparklers, the explosive, unpredictable backdrop perfectly set to accompany Posty’s trademark manic and clumsy swagger. You never knew what Posty was going to do next, whether it was to throw himself on the floor, light up another cigarette in his long chain of cigarettes, race from one end of the stage to the other, or assume the primordial squat with such effortless ease it made my own defective knee ask “Hey, why can’t I do that?”</p><p>Throughout it all, Posty was barefoot, his pair of dark Crocs (a company with whom he’s been known to collaborate) positioned dead center on the stage, right beside his mic stand.</p><p>The 29-year-old, more tattoo and gold teeth than man, clearly loves, and thrives, being on stage. And he loves who he gets to do it with, highlighting each of his talented supporting stage musicians with a warm remark and a beautiful hand-painted portrait of the musician blown up on the displays. The setlist had range too, showing not only all of what Posty was capable of as a musician, but also his team.</p><p>From the more delicate and heartfelt sounds of “Yours,” a country-influenced song written about his 2-year-old daughter’s future wedding, to the honky tonk sounds of “Who Needs You,” and the “harder” songs of “Rockstar,” all the way to the conclusion of the set with the smooth “Sunflower,” each one of these songs showcases the range of his vocal abilities — which is to say he can sing really well and has the endurance to run marathons back and forth across the stage with captivating stage presence.</p><p>As a fiddler in my younger days, I really want to give a shout out to the amazing woman playing the fiddle, but I also think the camera operators deserve some praise here, because they really elevated the whole experience with some great camera work not only of the performers on stage, but of the audience members enjoying themselves.</p><p>I do have a bit of a bone to pick with “Yours,” however, and that’s the way the song rubs me the wrong way and has nothing to do with his actual performance. It really is a beautifully written song and I can see the sentiment behind it, but once you actually break down the lyrics, it has a very toxic tone, something possessive in such a way it makes me uncomfortable at certain points.</p><p>I think that there was one major let down of the evening, and I think this has a lot to do with what audiences “expect” of artists, of audiences who think they are owed something. And that has to do with the song “Losers.” which was written by Post Malone with Jelly Roll, and “Losers” was on the set list. Jelly Roll was performing the following night at MVP Arena, and there were certainly hopes that a special guest appearance would be made. I’d certainly heard that Jelly Roll had been spotted backstage. However, when he didn’t show up, there was a palpable shift that occurred in the audience — it tasted like disappointment.</p><p>Don’t mistake my remark about the disappointment as my own sense of it, though admittedly as someone who was not getting to see Jelly Roll on Tuesday, I did taste a little dash of that in my own mouth. I am a firm believer that a musician like Jelly Roll does not owe the audience anything when it is not his show. Jelly Roll should be entitled to show up to watch his friend's show without pressure to perform. I want to do the same thing if I had a night off and was in the same(ish) city as my friend.</p><p>Post Malone showed Saratoga Springs many things Monday night. He showed us what an impassioned and passionate performer he is, multi-faceted and genre-fluid, with a team of fluent and supporting musicians and production to highlight every quality of his. The close of 2024 at SPAC was explosive, energetic, fun, and showcased all the ways Post Malone is a king of his craft, talented and beloved for it.</p><p>If I could circle back to “Sunflower,” this song really was a highlight for me. It is really the only Post Malone song I can say I “know,” so I understand it makes my observational opinion biased. That said, this cherished-but-innocuous song from the movie “Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse” seemed to be one of their favorites to perform — the energy in the audience, and performers, had shifted significantly, and I don’t think it had anything to do with it being the last song of the evening. There was an ineluctable quality that enveloped the amphitheater during this song, akin to something spiritual or riding a high. I found this curious, as the song is anything but something you’d find in a house of worship. I suppose you could say this song had the ethos and Gemeinschaft of a church—transcendental. It also felt like a stone of something heavy, something that nestled itself in my stomach—the weight of closure, the future nostalgia of a summer fizzling out.</p><p>In the end, Post Malone's performance was more than just a concert; it was a communal experience that blurred the lines between genres, emotions, and even reality in select moments. “Sunflower” may have felt like a transcendent moment, but the entire night was a testament to Posty's ability to bring people together through music, leaving Saratoga with a resonant feeling of connection, joy, and a bit of magic.</p><h2>Dan Spencer setlist</h2><p>Undetermined</p><h2>Muscadine Bloodline setlist</h2><p>Rattlesnake Ridge, Weyerhaeuser Land, Dyin’ For a Livin’, Porch Swing Angel, Two Tattered Tulips, Mary Riley, Earle Byrd from Mexia, 10-90, Devil Died in Dixie, Pieces, Ginny, Me on You</p><h2>Post Malone setlist</h2><p>Wrong Ones, Finer Things, Circles, What Don’t Belong to Me, Guy for That, Chemical, California Sober, M-E-X-I-C-O, Candy Paint, Fallin’ in Love, Who Needs You, Two Hearts, Stay, I Fall Apart, Better Now, Psycho, Losers, Yours, White Iverson, Ain’t How it Ends, Go to Hell, I Had Some Help, Rockstar, Congratulations, Sunflower (Encore)</p></div></body>

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REVIEW AND PHOTOS: Post Malone gives one last thrill to end 2024 SPAC season

Syracuse native and rapper/singer/songwriter/record producer/guitarist/actor (source: Wikipedia) superstar Post Malone brought his F-1 Trillion tour to the amphitheater on Monday night, singing a whopping 25-song setlist from his catalog for an even more whopping 22,000 fans, making for a dynamic end to the 2024 SPAC season. Starting the evening off...