Post Malone blitzes Fontainebleau in NYE premiere
Post Malone wore a Micah Parsons No. 11 Dallas Cowboys jersey Saturday in his BleauLive Theater premiere.
But there is a difference between Posty and Parsons. You can block Parsons. Good luck with Malone, who just goes wherever, whenever he likes.
The 28-year-old recording star sashayed, sauntered, swilled and thrilled in his first show at Fontainebleau’s new entertainment venue. A festival-style crowd was hyped up by Malone’s unbridled energy, unmistakable zeal for performance and his seemingly bottomless bin of F-bombs.
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“I love you, too,” Malone said in his first address to the crowd, holding up a red cup (Solo-brand, we expect) full of brew. “Cheers (expletive)! I hope everyone’s having a good night!” The inventively inked superstar was to close his two-show run on New Year’s Eve.
It’s difficult not to love Malone, as he loves us so much. He is 100 percent comfortable in his own aura. The genre-bending artist completed his ensemble with a pair of bejeweled denim shorts and white Chuck Taylors, as if on his way to a disco picnic.
A fan invited to the stage to play acoustic guitar handed him a pink “Minions”-style hat, so he wore it. Later, a fan tossed a white cowboy hat to the stage, and he sported that, too.
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Malone’s opener, Jesse Jo Stark set a rocking mood. Seemingly bent on breaking in the sound system, Stark tore through her fan favorites “Dandelion,” “Lipstick” and “Pussycat.”
Those who have not experienced a full Malone show — and a hand is up, here — would be taken by his musicianship. A rapper/R&B/pop/rock/country hybrid, Posty owns a sweet and resonant voice, He brings a string section to the party, in his eight-piece band.
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But when he wants to re-energize, Malone ducks down in front of the bass drum, as if merely to absorb the beat. The headliner also moves in a carefree, choreography-defying manner, at times looking prizefighter staggered by a knock punch.
But Malone is the one packing a wallop, firing off “Better Now,” “Circles,” “Rockstar,” “I Like You (A Happier Song),” his video duet with Ozzy Osbourne on “Take What You Want,” and his 2016 track “Hollywood Dreams,” with its sample of “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac. He shut it down with a “Sunflower” (several fans packed sunflowers, anticipating such an event) and “Chemicals.”
Along the way, Malone called out a couple of variations of, “How ‘bout them Cowboys!,” still relishing his team’s controversial victory over the Lions. Most of that team’s fans seemed to be upstairs, their shouts back falling out of earshot.
Malone turned personal, mentioning his daughter of 18 months (full name not public, but initials are DDP), who has inspired his efforts to take better care of himself. He’s definitely covering cardio, with his grooving all over the stage.
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Malone also performed a warm version of “Too Young” dedicated to A$AP Yams of the hip-hop collective A$AP Mob, who died of an overdose in January 2015. The two were friends. Malone said in his tribute, “Never be scared to reach out to someone who may be having a hard time.”
Malone checked out at about 11:30, or two hours, certainly a full complement of Posty action. Confetti rained at the close, as Malone continued to play through what sounded like a smoke alarm, and the musicians’ power cutting out. Only the drums were audible as the house lights were turned up.
No worries. This Cowboy bowed and shouted thanks anyway, grinning and greeting fans up front, looking like a man with a lotta game left.
Wait, we know her
David Blaine performed his palm-endangering, ice-pick act in his triumphant return to the Strip on Friday. In his debut at Encore Theater, Blaine invited two audience members to help him with the act, which went awry during his show at Resorts World in December 2022, when he slammed his hand down on the wrong cup. Bleeding ensued.
Anyway, no injuries Friday, but one of his audience volunteers was familiar to many entertainment fans in the room: Elizabeth Gillies, the actress and singer who co-headlined with Seth Macfarlane in their orchestral concert Saturday at Reynolds Hall. Gillies was up with her father, Dave Gillies, nervously leading Blaine through the act.
Gillies has a long list of film and TV credits. She played Jade West in the Nickelodeon series “Victorious” and portrayed Fallon Carrington on The CW reboot of “Dynasty.” And in this case, she performed her own stunts.
Xtina’s dignitary
Vintage Vegas was in play at Voltaire at The Venetian on Saturday night. Plaza CEO Jonathan Jossel took in Christina Aguilera’s premiere at the chic hotspot, marking its first NYE.
Jossel’s property is on the very point where the auction that created the city of Las Vegas was held in 1905. The resort exec recognizes a historic moment, and marked the occasion with a photo of Aguilera at his side, performing an air-kiss.
This night, and the hotel’s biggest fireworks show ever on NYE, is a fitting way for Jossel to close an action-packed ‘23.
Cool Hang Alert
Recover from NYE madness (at least, in this instance) with The Souvenairs at The Mob Museum’s Speakeasy from 7 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday. The four-piece band unspools classics from the Great American Songbook. “From hot, up-tempo swing jazz ballads and beyond, the band provides a diverse program of music for all audiences,” our friends at The Mob Museum promise. No cover. Gentle canoodling permitted.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
