Mike Posner performs motivating show at Canopy Club

Mike+Posner+and+The+Legendary+Mike+Posner+Band+with+Adam+Friedman+performed+at+The+Canopy+Club+on+April+23.+He+told+the+audience+to+get+to+know+the+people+around+them+during+the+concert+because+it%E2%80%99s+beautiful+to+be+a+part+of+something+bigger+than+yourselves.+

Jessica Jutzi

Mike Posner and The Legendary Mike Posner Band with Adam Friedman performed at The Canopy Club on April 23. He told the audience to get to know the people around them during the concert because “it’s beautiful to be a part of something bigger than yourselves”.

By Meral Aycicek, Staff writer

Mike Posner performed in a packed room at the Canopy Club Sunday night. At 9 p.m., Adam Friedman opened up the show on his own with “Gravity,” followed by “Sad” and “Stronger.”

“A round of applause for Urbana. Super f—— applause for Urbana. Snaps for Urbana,” Friedman said.

Friedman then sang his most popular song of the night, “Lemonade.”

“Next song is called ‘Lemonade.’ I wrote it with a guy named Mike Posner, Mike Osner. Something like that,” Friedman said. “If you know the lyrics, sing along. If you don’t know the lyrics, don’t sing along.”

After his fifth song, “How Would I Know,” Friedman took a minute to thank Posner and his team.

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“I’m going to count to three and you’re going to say, ‘Thank you Mike Posner band and crew,’” Friedman said. The audience responded with what he asked.

Friedman ended his performance with “What If,” the song that he sang on the 21st season of “The Bachelor.”

After a short break, the Legendary Mike Posner Band took the stage.

The band opened with “Buried in Detroit,” a song from Posner’s 2016 album, “At Night, Alone.”

Following “Be As You Are,” which featured a solo by Jacob Scesney on flute, the band performed a medley and “Smoke and Drive.”

“We are the Legendary Mike Posner Band, and we have come to your Canopy Club for one reason, and one reason only — to play the best damn show we have played in our careers so far,” Posner said. “It’s beautiful to be a part of something bigger than yourselves.”

Next, Posner and his band performed a cover of Mansionz’s “Dennis Rodman,” with a sax solo from Scesney and a guitar solo, and “In the Arms of a Stranger,” where Posner demonstrated his impressive vocal range.

“Not That Simple” was followed by “Drug Dealer Girl.” Posner paused in the middle of the song to introduce the rest of his band.

After the introductions, the band performed a cover of Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles,” which was very well received by the audience.

“You’ll probably recognize this song, but you probably didn’t know that Mansionz had a hand in writing that s—,” Posner said. He began singing Justin Bieber’s hit, “Boyfriend.”

Scesney performed another solo on the saxophone and got the crowd grooving and moving.

Next, the band performed “Bow Chicka Wow Wow.”

“Please Don’t Go” was a crowd favorite and the incredible drum solo by Kevin Rice had the audience jumping.

“It’s a legendary night. I’m never going to forget this night,” Posner said. “You may think I say that s— every night. I don’t. I say it when it’s a legendary night! And that’s because of you guys.”

The most popular song of the night was Posner’s smash hit, “Cooler Than Me.”

To increase the hype, Posner had the crowd sit on the ground while he sang the opening and “explode” on the count of three. The crowd responded and it was a truly legendary moment. Posner joined, walked through the audience and stood on a ledge in the middle of the crowd for the rest of the song.

Next up was Posner’s recent song, “I Took A Pill In Ibiza.” Following that, he performed a poem, dropped the mic and left the stage, followed by his band.

The crowd chanted, “One more song!” so Posner returned and played “Iris” on the piano.

“Thank you so much! We got a couple more if you want it. We don’t usually do this s—, but it kinda feels right,” Posner said.

The band deviated from its set list and played two more songs during the encore, ending with a heartwarming rendition of “Lean On Me.”

“We got a great f—— crowd tonight. Thank you so much,” Posner said. “Make some noise for my entire team. Make some noise for Adam Friedman and the Legendary Mike Posner Band!”

The band, Friedman and the crew hugged and took a bow, officially ending the performance.

After the show, Friedman said the show had been stellar.

“Tonight was special. There was a certain lightness to Mike and there was a certain energy that built up throughout the night,” Friedman said. “Starting from my opening and the end of the night, the energy was through the roof.”

Posner and his band are known for being raw and authentic while performing. Sunday, the band members’ solos, the chemistry on the stage, the relationship Posner built with his audience and the responsiveness of the crowd all substantiated this reputation.

“I thought it was great. Illinois represent! Just the energy was great, the crowd was more responsive than other places,” Rice said. “There was room to be spontaneous.”

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