After multiple postponements, one wouldn’t be surprised if Mallrat decided to cancel her run of two shows at the Forum in Melbourne. Thankfully, she persevered and we were finally able to get a taste of her emphatic pop sounds once again at the Forum on Tuesday night.
To make sure the evening started off with the right energy, Mallrat made sure to get the perfect opener in NinaJirachi. Her short set of half an hour was a powerhouse of beats and for those who arrived early, they were given a treat for the ears.
Mallrat’s set started off with the usual hype, as her DJ; Denim made an early appearance to bring the room up to temperature with some stellar DJ work. After the warm-up Mallrat started with a bang, immediately firing into “Nobody’s Home” before seeing out “Braces Off” and “Texas”. Her energy was electric and was easily up to the task of keeping her fans excited over the course of her hour-long set.
While it was a celebration of her most recent EP Driving Music, tracks off of her previous EP In The Sky were prominent features and favourites.
“Tokyo Drift” from Mallrat’s first EP Uninvited, “Charlie” and “Groceries” were all standouts, but nothing will match the roar from the crowd during “UFO” as Allday himself made a surprise live feature matching the crowd’s intensity with his own.
It was his only appearance of the night, but it was a brilliantly kept surprise as it seemed no one in the crowd was expecting to see him there.
To bring a refreshing change of pace, Mallrat skipped the usual conclusion of a staged walk-off, announcing her last song, ‘Rockstar’. This was the one the crowd was seemingly waiting for with vocal back and forth between the swell of her fans and Mallrat.
One of the most endearing facets of the performance was the inclusion of live Auslan interpreters on-stage making sure that anybody in attendance was able to enjoy. This was a wonderful addition to the night and hopefully a feature of more upcoming performances in Australia. I’m sure it was good for Mallrat to be back on stage in Melbourne, and her fans definitely turned out in force to let her know.
Mallrat heads to Wildlands Weekender on December 26th before gracing Field Day with her presence on the 1st of January.
