Revolt: When an artist with as many hits under his belt as Mike Posner embarks on a seven-stop mini-tour at some of the most intimate rooms around the country, it’d be fair to be skeptical about just what kind of event the pop singer-songwriter-producer could manifest in front of an audience infinitely smaller than the kind he’s used to, especially after his recent outing as an opening act on Justin Bieber’s arena-spanning Believe Tour, but when Posner stopped by REVOLT’s New York offices earlier this week, he was quick to note his excitement: “The cool thing about it is, you can’t hide behind your lights or your pyrotechnics or any of that bullshit, you have to really be able to sing and really be able to play.”
And so, last night, on the third stop of his Unplugged Tour, Posner brought his stripped-down setup to New York City for a varied, 90-minute performance at Manhattan’s Rockwood Music Hall. Taking the stage promptly at 9 p.m., backed by a sparse back line that included a piano, keyboard, laptop and two samplers, the multi-talented Detroit-bred artist instantly showed that he wouldn’t quite be all the way unplugged, but rather much closer to his adoring, core fans.
Holding up a notebook page that read “HI,” Poser kicked off the set with a quartet of new songs – presumably from his long-delayed, forthcoming sophomore album – efficiently playing with the samplers atop his keyboard, laying down the kind of familiar drum beats and synth lines found throughout the bulk of his work, before grabbing the mic and shifting the focus to his smokey, imperfect falsetto.
On “Not That Simple,” a high-pitched ode to a duo of girls he used to enjoy flings with, Posner showed his knack for uncannily honest and relatable songwriting, touching on real life experiences to reflect on youthful love in flux. Two songs later, he revisited a standout from his 31 Minutes To Takeoff, “Save Your Goodbye,” introducing it as a re-imagining of Common’s “I Used To Love H.E.R.” in that it was originally written as a letter to his ongoing depression, not a former flame (as most would assume). His sincerity and backing guitarist’s classical touches made the tune all the more affecting, updating it from its EDM-heavy original to a heartfelt ballad.
Keeping up his streak of sincerity, Posner then performed a poem titled “Gratitude” acapella, backhandedly paying respects to his former band teacher, while wholeheartedly expressing love for his late uncle and continually-inspiring father.
It was a delicate moment, followed by an equally arresting one just moments later, when he performed a new, folksy cut called “Took A Pill In Ibiza,” a nostalgic tale about taking drugs with Avicii just to look cool, before taking a long look in the mirror and wondering whether the chase for fame is worth all the trappings it comes with. Crooning the opening bars of the song’s hook – “You don’t wanna be high like me / Never know why like me” – he seemed to be in a stalemate with himself, a 26-year-old, highly successful songwriter with a solo career that hangs in the balance.
Following a brief intermission and a short Q&A session with fans – who seemed too fearful to delve deeper than asking whether Mike thinks the Knicks are going to the playoffs or if he gets turned down by women now that he’s famous – the singer changed gears for the gig’s second half. Where the first portion was a reintroduction of sorts to Posner as an artist four years removed from his debut, the second half was a largely contrived revisitation of his many hit songs.
Burning through “Drug Dealer Girl,” “Bow Chicka Wow Wow,” “Please Don’t Go,” and the original version of Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend” (a song he co-wrote and produced), Posner forcefully tried to shift the crowd’s mood from ruminative to party-ready, and it mostly worked (this was a room of his 100 most-passionate NYC fans), but it all felt a bit inconsistent, with Posner showing his age as he bounced around the stage to a song he wrote when he was living in a dorm room. Where his new work is strikingly honest and even stark at moments, his older material depicts a simpler, easily-digestible pop singer with only one speed.
It’s in that dichotomy that Posner seems to be stuck in at this point in his career – made even clearer by his recent, questionable collaborations with Avicii and Diplo – and really, it’s his gift and his curse. How does an aging (relatively speaking) pop singer mature with the songs that made him famous while updating his own artistic voice in a clear and consistent way? Posner seems to be figuring out the answer to that riddle, and maybe by the end of his Unplugged Tour, he’ll take a moment to decide which direction to go next.
Head to Posner’s website for information on forthcoming shows in Detroit, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
