Post Malone impressed the Auckland crowd on his world tour on Tuesday, but not before a memorable warm up at a CBD bar the previous night.
On Monday, the rapper and songwriter shocked everyone inside Danny Doolan’s when he turned up for several hours, singing songs including the Proclaimers’ karaoke classic “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”.
“I met Posty last night in my bar Danny Doolan’s in Auckland, asked him if he could get on stage and he actually did it,” one fan wrote on TikTok.
24 hours later, he took to a much larger stage at Outer Fields at Western Springs in the same city for a much different night, no karaoke crooning in sight. The Proclaimers didn’t make it into the setlist either: Post was laser-focused on running through his growing back catalogue of moody hits.
Credit: Tom Grut
Post’s tour has already taken him through Latin America and Asia (and before that Europe, the US and Canada), but there were limited signs of tiredness on show last night.
Lots of Austin, Post’s latest album, was performed for the sizeable crowd, with plenty of classic anthems included to satisfy the more casual observers. “Better Now” kicked things off in spectacular fashion, while “Sunflower” and “Chemical” made for a stunning encore section.
The sight of fireworks are commonplace at Western Springs, but not many shows have featured quite as many fireworks as Post’s show: it started to feel like the US star desperately wanted to get a noise complaint for his fizzing fireworks display.
Declarations of love for the crowd were sprinkled throughout his set. At one point, he asked everyone to give someone else in the crowd a “big hug.” The wholesome nature of the night was compounded by the sight of a Post fan being invited onstage to play the guitar (the only downside being that I wasn’t picked).
Credit: Tom Grut
“Thank you for letting me back into your country,” Post shouted at one point, and the affection was definitely reciprocated by all those in attendance.
What makes an international artist feel a stronger connection with a certain country? For Billie Eilish, it’s because Auckland’s Spark Arena was the first arena that she ever played (“my favourite place in the world,” she declared upon her return to the same venue in 2022). For Post, though, the reason he loves being in New Zealand so much is less concrete, but it’s undeniable that he bloody appreciates his time in Auckland whenever his tour arrives here. We’re all looking forward to the next time, Post.
Following his memorable trip to Auckland, Post Malone now heads to Australia for shows in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne (see full dates below). He’ll also appear at Spilt Milk Festival in November and December.
Post Malone 2023 Australia & New Zealand Tour
Ticket information available via livenation.com.au
Thursday, November 23rd
Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane, QLD
Wednesday, November 29th
The Domain, Sydney, NSW
Thursday, November 30th
Melbourne Showgrounds, Melbourne, VIC
