Many know U.S.-based artist and Detroit native Mike Posner from when he first burst out with his R&B-meets-EDM swagger on full display in mega-hit and electro-pop smash “Cooler Than Me” back in 2010. More recently, we know him from the club-friendly, radio anthem “Ibiza” in which he famously name drops Swedish DJ/producer Avicii and got the EDM remix treatment from Norwegian tropical house trio Seeb. There’s all of the co-writing of course including everyone from Justin Bieber (“Boyfriend” ) to Maroon 5 (“Sugar”).

What a lot of people may not be aware of is the really recent Posner embarking on a different musical journey via his new group Mansionz (more on that later) and the alt-rock-funk theme dominating his live sets these days. Posner showed that off during the Atlanta stop of “The Legendary Mike Posner Band Tour” at Variety Playhouse...rightfully set in the heart of the bohemian Little 5 Points district on Thursday, April 6, 2017.

Taking a cue from pop icon P!nk with the R&B-gone-punk thing and showing out full green hair that can't help but be reminiscent of outspoken former NBA-er Dennis Rodman, Posner is boasting a side of more edge. And speaking of Rodman...Posner performed in the early portion of his set a new 2017 track called “Dennis Rodman”, a single by Mansionz - which is Posner’s alternative/hip-hop duo with American hip-hop songwriter/producer Matthew Musto also known as Blackbear. Translating very nicely in a live environment, “Dennis Rodman” is a total party anthem mashing up funk and some very much R&B-influenced rock plus offering up one of a number of opportunities during the show for his saxophonist Jacob Scesney to shine.

Posner and his posse got really hype going into a full-blown rock version of Rae Sremmurd's hip-hop/trap hit “Black Beatles” that almost seemed to get the crowd on the verge of thrashing. Although it’s a Rae Sremmurd track, Posner owned it giving the track his own cadence and then heading into an epic spoken word opus to boot.

Bieber’s “Boyfriend” was covered - which like “Ibiza” has another life as an EDM anthem. But is it truly a cover if one of the song’s co-writers is performing it? Scesney again turned up in a major way on saxophone making “Boyfriend” go in an almost jazz direction.

Towards the end of the concert, Posner got around to getting into more of his commercial stuff. Starting off with his career-launching R&B/dance hit “Cooler Than Me” that put him on the map....but giving it a definite rock feel live. And of course finally current FM favorite “Ibiza” came up. Considering all of the musical terrain covered during the show before that point, the “Ibiza” placement near the end seemed very strategic and proved most definitely how Posner had much more to offer than his big commercial singles.

The encore showcased Posner’s inspired vision further even including a cover of Bill Wither’s 1972 soul classic “Lean on Mean” of all things. Although a seemingly surprise turn, maybe not so much. Posner gets very personal in his lyrics and extremely emotive in his live spoken word performance giving the audience insight into the man that he has become at this point of his career. Whether talking about his own demons or uplifting the audience through heartfelt sentiments and positive messaging, it was inspiring. As “Lean On Me” goes, “I just might have a problem that you'll understand.” That notion seems to fit Posner very much and certainly came across over the concert’s course.