Words By Isla Brentwood Image by Kane Berry @islabrentwood @kane_berry_photography
I was lucky enough to head along to the final night of Allday’s ’Starry Night Over The Phone’ album tour which kicked off in Perth and ended in a high energy, ripping show at Festival Hall in Melbourne. The whole lineup was a strong reminder of Australia’s music talents: JXN, E^ST and Mallrat were billed as support acts, but each held their own and delivered standout, exciting performances.
The night began with popular social media star Jackson Brazier or JXN who, despite being on his first tour, captivated the audience and proved a strong opener - I was worried for my hearing as the venue erupted in screams on his arrival. JXN is definitely a musician on the rise and I imagine we are going to see even bigger things from him.
JXN was followed up by E^ST who is a shining example of Australian indie-pop at it’s best. E^ST’s performance included dancers dressed up as green aliens, a request for the audience to celebrate friendship by hugging their neighbour and a brand new song with a catchy, driving beat which will be released on her upcoming EP. The audience weren’t let down as she treated us to a strong vocal performance on all her popular tracks including ‘I Don’t Lack Imagination’, ‘Friends’ and ‘Life Goes On’.
DJ Denim warmed up the crowd before Mallrat ran out to open her set with ‘Tokyo Drift’. It seemed the masses were just as pumped to see her as they were Allday. She had us singing along especially to crowd-favourites ‘Nobody’s Home’ and ‘Groceries’. Mallrat included a cover of ‘Girl With One Eye’ by Florence and the Machine before she was joined on stage by popular artist Tye James-Organ who accompanied her on the guitar for an acoustic version of new track ‘Charlie’ and stuck around to finish the set with her.
Right on cue, Allday showed up with his sharply dressed 6-piece band and opened his set with ‘Right Now’ - an interesting choice considering this was actually released on his debut album ‘Startup Cult’, but it definitely started the set off with a bang and got the audience amped. The stage lit up with starry-themed lighting and nostalgic Nokia visuals, an obvious nod to the the new album title ‘Starry Night Over The Phone.’ The crowd was electric. Allday, looking slick in an oversized grey suit, was obviously feeding off the energy of the audience; running from one side of the stage to the other and encouraging the crowd to jump and sing every word. Mallrat joined him onstage for a number of songs including ‘Baby Spiders’ and banger ‘UFO’s’ before he pulled it back for an acoustic version of ‘Girl On The Sun’. We were given three encores and the show ended with one of his most loved tracks ’You Always Know The DJ’.
Allday is truly a sensational example of Australian music at its best. He has always been a dynamic songwriter challenging the hip hop genre and this album and live show are no exception.
Image by Kane Berry
