Live Review
Allday @ The Tivoli
Brisbane's biggest angel Mallrat opened the night with her track For Real, her chilled out vibes exciting the already swelling crowd. Older tracks Suicide Blonde and Sunglasses returned to the setlist, alongside crowd favourites Inside Voices and Uninvited, which included the absolutely necessary audience sing (scream?) along.
Nicole Millar took to the stage next; the psychedelic lips that were projected onto the screen behind her made the perfect backdrop to the intoxicating beat that was quickly working the audience into a trance. Tim from Cub Sport made a surprise appearance to sing Better, and she topped off set with singles Signals and Tremble.
Japanese Wallpaper acted as the eye of the storm – his chill beats and soft tones got the audience grooving but calmed the most down to a light sway. Cocoon was an early set highlight, but he didn’t stop there. Another all-star set, his lineup featured E^ST on keys, and Brisbane local Airling popped in to sing vocals on Forces. Between Friends closed out his humble set.
Finally, the main attraction was due to take the stage. Allday, (aka Tom Gaynor) is unusually humble for a rapper, and perhaps this reverse stereotype is what brings in so much appeal. Opening his set with First Light, his energy on stage instantly grabbed the attention of the crowd. From my strategic spot on the balcony I could observe the audience, and I was surprised to see a mostly well-behaved crowd. Glow sticks littered the wrists of punters, and added to the strobe lighting and bright projections. His set was a good mix of old and new songs, with Claude Monet and Raceway prompting audience sing-alongs, Wolves saw the whole crowd moshing their hearts out, and Send Nudes reminded us why we came to love Allday in the first place.
Not to be outdone by his supports, he invited Mallrat back to sing Baby Spiders and Japanese Wallpaper to help out with In Motion. Always Know The DJ closed out the night, and despite the crowd begging for an encore, Allday left it at that, and finished his show on a high, leaving the hungry punters to the mercy of a Saturday night in the valley.
-Olivia Shoesmith