“Performing is a very unnatural thing for me, but I’m slowing growing into it and getting more comfortable with it” Mallrat explained in an interview with ThomasBleach.com in September 2019. And it’s safe to say after witnessing her first of six sold out shows at The Tivoli in Brisbane, that she’s now found that confidence within herself.
Confidently smiling and gliding across the stage, Grace Shaw (aka Mallrat) has really seemed to have grown into herself as a live performer. Thanking the crowd for coming out to see her, she was very gracious for all the love the crowd was showing her, and was very strong with how she communicated and interacted with them. She’s always been a very grateful performer and delivered a very wholesome show, but this time around it had this ethereal energy surrounding it.
DJ Denim pumped the crowd up with ‘I Endorse These Strippers’ by Nicki Minaj before seamlessly segueing into show opener ‘Nobody’s Home’ which saw Shaw walk on stage to huge admiration from the crowd. ‘Tokyo Drift’, ‘Stay’ and ‘Texas’ followed which ignited the singalong’s from the crowd who were already jumping up and down ecstatically.
“I was writing my setlist this afternoon and I was just going to copy it from one we did at a festival recently, and I then I remembered that this was meant to be the ‘Driving Music’ tour, so we’ve added in some songs that we’ve never got to play before” she exclaimed. This tour was meant to happen in May 2020 as a big celebration for the then recently released EP, but because of the pandemic these shows were put on hold and in that time she’s started the next chapter as she heads towards her debut album. But with restrictions starting to open up, this intimate collection of songs finally got the party it deserved.
‘When I Get My Braces Off’, ‘Intro’, ‘Drive Me Round’ and ‘Circles’ got their time to shine throughout the show, and they were all met with a whole lot of love. Fan favourites ‘Make Time’, ‘Bunny Island’, ‘Groceries’, ‘UFO’ and ‘Better’ followed as they headed towards the big euphoric close of the show. The gorgeous ‘Charlie’, recent single ‘Rockstar’ and the party anthem ‘Uninvited’ delivered a special finish to a show that you really didn’t want to end.
After seeing Mallrat live more times than I can count on my fingers, this was the strongest I’ve seen her yet vocally and confidently as a performer. She really has embraced herself, and I can’t wait to see her keep growing and creating more euphoric moments in the studio and on the Iive stage.
Check out the live gallery of Mallrat and Bugs captured by Jared Harder Photography BELOW;
Photos By Jared Harder