Post Malone blows lid off Toronto's Rogers Centre: 'Thank you for opening this f***ing roof'

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When your first stadium tour has the words “big” and “ass” in the promotional materials, you’d better be able to live up to at least one of those expectations.

So when Post Malone’s Big Ass Stadium Tour rolled into Toronto’s Rogers Centre on Monday night on his only Canadian stop, the 18-time Grammy nominee made sure his 26-song setlist — and the stage he was belting them out from — were as large as could be.

With six studio albums under his belt, including last year’s country album F-1 Trillion which landed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, Post has rewritten the rules by throwing virtually every genre together — from hip-hop to rock to country, folk and electronica, too — and blending them into one giant musical stew.

If there’s a lane Post was supposed to stay in, he’s long since knocked the guardrails off. If you’re coming to one of his shows, prepare to hear everything that’s piquing his musical interest and watch him do it with a smile on his face for two hours straight.

Taking the stage in a T-shirt emblazoned with the five faces of members of the Canadian rock group The Band and drinking beer from a red Solo cup, Post early on established that this first stadium tour was going to be punctuated with a battery of pyrotechnics and flames, along with words of gratitude, both for the fans who sold out the stadium and the seven-piece band who backed him up during the two-hour show.

Between dropping F-bombs and puffing on one cigarette after another, he repeatedly called his fans “ladies and gentlemen” throughout the night and thanked the crowd for their enthusiastic appreciation between each song.

“I just wanted to say thank you to every single of you motherf****** for making this awesome tonight,” he shared.

Also, the weather gods got some appreciation as well. After an unseasonably cold and rainy month of May, Monday night finally hinted that summer is just around the corner when the Rogers Centre roof opened up (by my count that’s the earliest it’s been open for a concert at the ballpark).

“Thank you for opening this f***ing roof, ladies and gentlemen,” Post told the cheering throngs, as he noted the lights from the many condos that ring the Rogers Centre along with the CN Tower. “Thank you for letting me in this country and thank you for letting me in this building.”

As he traversed a long catwalk that extended nearly all the way to second base, Post ran through his hits-laden catalogue, checking off many of his most-loved tracks, gladly accepting hats and smokes from people near the stage and signing autographs during the twangy country of Finer Things.

From his infectious Morgan Wallen collab I Had Some Help, which tallied the highest weekly sales and streams since 2020 last summer, to his rousing Pour Me a Drink sing-along to White Iverson, the electronic-pop-rap single that launched his career 10 years ago, to Yours, a sentimental acoustic number that he dedicated to his three-year-old daughter’s future husband, Post showed that he was more than up to the challenge of going from filling arenas and amphitheatres to making a 40,000-plus stadium feel like it was a backyard party.

The Texas native — born Austin Richard Post —also reminded attendees that he’s still very much at the start of his musical journey. He’ll turn 30 on July 4, Post told onlookers, as he thanked supporters for allowing him to “chase my dreams.”

Already having notched countless multi-platinum certifications around the world, it seems he’s already conquered every musical mountain. Surveying his multi-generational fanbase, it’s hard to fathom what heights Post will reach in another 10 years.

There was no encore, but he still ended the show with an exclamation point. After Sunflower, Post appeared near the back of the floor on a riser as he sang a stirring rendition of his first diamond-certified single, Congratulations.

With a big grin on his face, tour partner Jelly Roll also underscored how music has given him a sense of belonging that he hoped extended to the crowd.

“All I ever wanted to do was write songs and make people feel like they wasn’t alone,” Jelly — born Jason DeFord —said during his opening set that included mashups of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Miley Cyrus and Nickelback, as well as his own breakout hits like Save Me. “Music always made me feel heard.”

When the two sang their duet Losers together later in the evening, solidifying their ascent together as two of music’s biggest names, Post made a nod to the pair’s outsider status and their unlikely rise. He then reminded everyone in attendance that they’ll always be welcome at one of their shows, whether it’s in a small club or a stadium in Toronto on a Monday night.

And he hopes to see some ambitious hopefuls out there joining him at the top.

“This song is dedicated to anybody out there that’s ever felt like they don’t quite f***ing belong or anybody who feels like they don’t have what it takes to chase their f***ing dreams,” Post encouraged. “You have exactly what it takes.”

Sometimes, the nice guys do make it to the top.

RATING: **** OUT OF 4

Setlist

Texas Tea
Wow.
Better Now
Wrong Ones
Go Flex
Broken Whiskey Glass
Hollywood’s Bleeding
I Fall Apart
Losers (with Jelly Roll)
Goodbyes
M-E-X-I-C-O
What Don’t Belong to Me
I Ain’t Comin’ Back (Morgan Wallen cover)
Feeling Whitney
Yours
Circles
White Iverson
Psycho
Play Video
Candy Paint
Finer Things
Pour Me a Drink
Dead at the Honky Tonk
rockstar
I Had Some Help
Sunflower
Congratulations

mdaniell@postmedia.com

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