On Tuesday (30 April 2019) Texas singer/songwriter and sometimes-rapper Post Malone, real name Austin Richard Post, graced the Rod Laver Arena for the Melbourne leg of his 2019 Australia and New Zealand tour. With the show being the first of three Melbourne arena shows, to say anticipation was building for Post Malone fans would be very much underselling it.

While Post Malone is certainly a divisive figure, multiple stadium shows is warranted considering his streaming popularity in Australia. This was clear when huge cues with no shortage of eshays formed outside the giant and security intense Rod Laver Arena. The dedication was there, with some punters going as far as makeshift Post Malone costumes, sharpie face tatts included.

Joining Post Malone were special guests Tyla Yaweh and the icon-living Jaden Smith. Both artists served as great supports, doing short sets but very much getting people excited for the main event. By the time Jaden Smith was—understandably—finishing on ‘ICON’, the stadium was mostly full, and people seemed ever-so-ready for Post Malone to grace the stage.

The stage was long and narrow, catering to VIP mosh pits either side. Above the strip stage was what looked like a shipping container with smoke machines and stage lights attached to the bottom, which was lowered and raised throughout the show to create different vibes for the many genres Post Malone moves between. This, along with: absolutely towering LED screens, fire, fireworks and no shortage of lasers, created a stadium show that felt grand scale, but still oddly intimate as a lone Malone entered the stage over Zach and Codeine.

While it was undeniably a stadium show on a grand scale, Post Malone seemed to really enjoy his time on stage and genuinely try to connect to the crowd; and yes, for some reason, that included drinking beer out of someone else’s shoe upon crowd request. But shoey and all, he was ready to give the crowd a show, and they were absolutely ready for it. Post bounced from hit to hit with the crowd screaming in excitement at every turn. Personal highlights would include: a stripped back performance of Stay—with Post bringing out an acoustic guitar and stool—Sunflower, because it’s a jam, and Rockstar; which featured the return of the acoustic guitar to only be immediately smashed.

As he got to the end of his set he made sure to thank everyone for coming out and supporting him in general, while also kicking back at people who “said he wouldn’t succeed,” he said he wanted everyone to be able to have fun and “forget the bullshit” at his shows. As he jumped into ‘Congratulations’ as a closer, it was clear he had won the hearts of the arena.