4 April 2025 – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane – words by Charlotte Poynton – pictures by Martin Schmidt
Australia’s favourite pop princess, Mallrat, embarked on her first headline shows in two years with the Light Hit My Face Like A Straight Right album tour. Setting out on three night across the East Coast of the country before taking off on a massive international tour, Mallrat promised a star-studded show to celebrate her latest album, with her friends Prophecy Girl, Denim, and Daine on supports.
Fans proudly sported Mallrat merch as they lined throughout the day, making the instant run to the barricade in an act of pure excitement for the night ahead of them. Despite doors opening around 7pm, there was a decent waiting period of an hour for the first DJ act, leading to the night ultimately not finishing until 11.40pm. Spirits were high though as audience members audibly joined conversations about their favourite Mallrat tracks and memories, creating a rather admirable display of amplifying Aus music.
Sauntering onto the stage with boldly dyed red hair and a shirt with the words “protect trans kids”, Prophecy Girl had already captured the attention and hearts of the crowd. Rotating through a DJ set of full of Charli XCX, Chappel Roan, Lorde, Tove Lo, and more crowd favourites, Prophecy Girl’s enigmatic energy rippled through the audience and got everyone dancing. Demonstrating an apt knowledge of Mallrat’s fanbase, Prophecy Girl delivered a cut from the Twilight soundtrack before dedicating their final song to Trans folk in Queensland, sharing that the community needs love more than ever now and that we should “vote with our hearts” in the upcoming election.
Prophecy Girl – Fortitude Music Hall – photos by Martin Schmidt
DJ Denim was an instant vibe shift from the lively energy of Prophecy Girl, bringing diva energy with dark sunglasses, an expressionless face, and dance track deep cuts. Perhaps I’m simply not a “365 party girl”, but I didn’t recognise many of the tracks that Denim played in this set. Sporting one of the newest items in Mallrat’s merch range, the red polo, Denim’s extended set kept audiences dancing under the strobes.
DJ Denim – Fortitude Music Hall – photos by Martin Schmidt
Dripping with pop star attitude and auto-tune goodness, Daine took the stage in a miniskirt and fur hoodie. Starting with her latest release ‘eighteen’, Daine took the audience by absolute surprise with the edgier moments of their set. After only a short set of around 5 songs, Daine bounced off the stage and audiences were left in absolute awe.
Daine – Fortitude Music Hall – photos by Martin Schmidt
The night grew late, with our beloved headliner gracing the stage around 10.40pm. Mallrat appeared through a cloud of smoke to perform ‘My Darling, My Angel’, with a crowd full of adoring fans who knew every single word. Cycling through tracks from her latest album, ‘Pavement’ saw the whole crowd dancing along to the Cub Sport and DJ Zirk samples.
Stopping to address how excited she was to be “back home”, Mallrat detailed the morning she spent with her band in West End, getting a coffee at Blackstar and Thai for breakfast. Mallrat’s face lit up as she noticed a fan with a sign for one of her earlier releases, ‘Texas’. Placing the large sign onstage for the audience to see, she announced that she will unfortunately not be playing that song tonight but appreciates the love for the 2018 track.
Cycling back to 2023 with two tracks from her Butterfly Blue album, Mallrat spun joyfully around the stage as the audience recited the Azealia Banks rap from ‘Surprise Me’. Returning the focus to Light Hit My Face Like A Straight Right album, the audience was treated to an uninterrupted six track run of new releases, including ‘Ray Of Light’, ‘The Worst Thing I Could Ever Do’, and ‘Something For Somebody’.
Mallrat – Fortitude Music Hall – photos by Martin Schmidt
A particular highlight of the night for me was experiencing ‘Hocus Pocus’ (affectionately dubbed ‘Hokey Pokey’ on the setlist) with an interpolation of ATB’s ‘9PM (Till I Come)’, which was actually included in a draft version of this track before licensing rights were denied, as Mallrat shared in an Instagram story prior to the album’s release.
The time of the night for the Mallrat classics came around and the audience was not disappointed, with the trio of ‘Teeth’, ‘Groceries’, and ‘R U High’ being lifted from her 2023 setlist in the same order.
The bridge of the closing track of the album, ‘Horses’, was amplified by a chorusing of audience members, of which Mallrat welcomed before announcing that it was truly magical. For such a vulnerable song for the artist to be playing, I was truly appalled at the behaviour of some crowd members, with people yelling out for a different song to be played and one person even scoffing at fellow audience members for getting emotional during the performance. Concert etiquette and basic empathy truly have become a rarity in recent years, and it is truly disheartening to witness this decline in humanity.
Mallrat – Fortitude Music Hall – photos by Martin Schmidt
A true favourite for many came with ‘Rockstar’, before Mallrat danced offstage and the stage lights dimmed. The encore arrived shortly after, with ‘Virtue’, my forever personal favourite with ‘Charlie’, before we came to the final song (or more aptly, song and a half) of the night.
Earlier on the morning of the concert, Mallrat dropped the mystical music video for ‘Hideaway’, and closed off the night with the track before waving “bye” to the crowd and skipping offstage as the interlude ‘Love Songs/Heart Strings’ played out. During her set tonight, Mallrat implored audiences to ensure they were enrolled to vote, reminding all to check before Monday night.
