Mike Posner & The Legendary Mike Posner Band brought their tour to Philadelphia’s Theatre Of The Living Arts with special guest Adam Friedman. While Posner and the band had a number of radio shows and a few headlining performances throughout 2016, this tour marks Posner’s biggest headlining tour in support of his latest and most personal LP, At Night, Alone. Posner became a household name in music, pretty much overnight, with the very large amounts of success of his record 31 Minutes to Takeoff, which was his debut record that included the singles “Cooler Than Me,” “Please Don’t Go,” and “Bow Chicka Wow Wow,” all of which reached high numbers on the Billboard Hot 100. After an extended hiatus with his solo career, Posner passed the time during this hiatus by writing and producing hit records like Justin Bieber‘s single “Boyfriend” and Maroon 5‘s smash hit “Sugar,” Posner is back at the top with his very personal sophomore LP, At Night, Alone., with it’s triumphant lead single, “I Took A Pill In Ibiza” which floods the radio and reached #4 on Billboard’s Hot 100 outperforming all of his other singles proving he is still the Grammy nominated Singer-Songwriter that he always has been.
Singer, Songwriter and Producer, Adam Friedman opened up the evening with an incredible 25 minute set, which he used to his advantage to allow all of his talents to shine for the packed out TLA. Not only is Friedman a great frontman, but he is also the full band being the drummer, bassist/guitarist, keyboardist, all while having his very soulful vocals burst out for fans to enjoy. Friedman’s very melodic set was filled with songs that will very well soon be big hits, as fans seemed to love each and every one of them. One song he performed was titled “Lemonade“ which actually features Mike Posner but Posner unfortunately did not join his on stage for this performance, that only allowing Friedman’s abilities to be even more vibrant. Friedman could very well be the next Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, or Shawn Mendes but with an added bang to their sound. Friedman ended his performance with “What If,” the song that he sang on the 21st season of The Bachelor. Friedman left the fans craving more and screaming for an encore but being this was not a headline show he could not do one. Make sure you get out and pick up his debut EP, Green.
Multi-Platinum Grammy-Nominated artist, Mike Posner closing out the evening with an incredible set, packed with hit after hit starting with a song from his 2016 album At Night, Alone, “Buried In Detroit” which is an absolute banger and for sure a fan favorite as the crowd roared the lyrics back to Posner on stage as Posner and his legendary band performed for a solid 90 minutes. After performing his first three songs (“Buried In Detroit,” “Be As You Are,” and “Smoke and Drive.”) straight through he stopped for a moment to tell the crowd to get to know the people around them during the concert because “it’s beautiful to be a part of something bigger than yourselves.” There was several notable moments throughout Posner’s remarkable set, including: Posner and his band performing a cover of Posner’s new side project which is with his best friend Blackbear, the project is called Mansionz which Posner performed “Dennis Rodman,” without Blackbear this evening it even included a saxophone solo from Jacob Scesney who adds an incredible vibe to the bands stage presence. Other moments that stuck out to me was Posner’s impressive vocals in songs like “In The Arms of a Stranger,” “Drug Dealer Girl,” and “Bow Chicka Wow Wow.” Other notable moments include: Posner’s band and himself have an extraordinary stage presence interacting with each other throughout the entire set, as each one of them gets their time to spotlight their talents during the set with their own individual solos. Especially, The incredible drum solo by Kevin Rice after “Please Don’t Go,” and Saxophonist Scesney’s multiple spotlights as well. The relationship Posner has with his band on stage and his fans is a force to be reckoned with. When Posner had the crowd sit on the ground while he sang the opening notes to “Cooler Than Me” making the crowd explode into a jumping frenzy when the beat dropped, it was a truly an impressive moment of the evening. Posner then joined the crowd, walking through the audience singing then standing on a ledge above the crowd in balcony in the middle of the crowd for the remainder of the song. Overall, Posner and The Lengendary Mike Posner Band was very authentic, raw, unique, real, and an incredible show. Make sure you get out and see Mike Posner if his solo tour or a Mansionz tour comes to your town, you will be guaranteed to have an extraordinary show.
