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Conan Gray at John Cain Arena
11 July 2024
Australian indie-pop artist Kat Edwards opens the show with her collection of vulnerable soft-rock songs with delicate, subtle melodies and soaring vocals.
She’s a talented singer-songwriter who has a unique shining presence on stage with an effortless ability to draw in thecrowd with ease to hang on her every note.
With songs from her debut EP Best Bad News and latest song Waiting Room, she showcases her ethereal soulful acoustic folk through powerful storytelling and emotional lyricism.
Edwards throws in a fun cover of Chappel Roan’s Casual that gets the crowd excited and ends with a new sad song coming out in two weeks called Damaged Goods.
“Welcome to the very first night of Found Heaven on tour!”Shouts Conan Gray. Tonight is a very special show because Gray is starting off his global tour in Melbourne.
A lightning strike hits the stage as a black stage curtain drops to reveal Gray standing on a platform in the middle of the stage between a backdrop of torn up white curtains. He strikes a pose to each hard-hitting beat of the music as he kicks off with Fainted Love, which is the live debut of the song from his latest album. He continues with Never Ending Song – an up-tempo dance number which sees Gray bust out some sleek choreographed moves as he jumps around doing high kicks.
Gray wears a striking silver and black leather-studded outfit complete with a midriff corset with a star laced up in the middle of his chest – he’s ready to rock out in style. The vibrant show shines with a huge glitzy stage production to match the new wave, glam rock ‘80s vibe with synth-heavy tracks produced by big pop producers Max Martin and Greg Kurstin.
“Y’all, this is the biggest show I’ve ever played in my entire life!” he exclaims with gratitude as he looks out across the sold-out arena tonight.
The torn curtains fall down to reveal an illuminated star centre stage with Gray standing in the middle. The Gen-Z pop kingis pulling out all stops to deliver a thrilling show with non-stop energy from beginning to end.
Gray goes into the crowd for People Watching as fans sing along to every word with him. We then join him in singing Happy Birthday to a fan in the audience and he receives a koala toy to welcome him back to Australia.
He takes a moment to sit down and share an emotional and personal reflection. “My whole life I’ve never been afraid to die. It’s something that I’ve always been okay with. Because growing up I always felt like maybe I didn’t really have much to lose. As a kid, I always thought I had it all figured out. I thought my childhood was going to be painful and my adulthood would be painful and then it would end. But I grew up a bit and I started letting people into my life and seeing the world and singing songs and meeting you guys. I started to make friends and fall in love. And I looked around a few years ago at my life and I thought to myself, holy shit! I’m so afraid to die. I’m so afraid to die because for the first time ever I never want to lose this ever,” he reveals.
He picks up an acoustic guitar and shares his next song (The Story) for anyone who thinks they’ve got it all figured out. “I promise you, you don’t, and you have no idea how good life might get if you’re just strong enough to stick around. Thank you for showing up and showing me that life can get better,” he says.
The whole band joins back in for Astronomy and he’s raised up on a scissor-lifted podium for the live debut of his track Found Heaven. Laser lights project up behind him for full effect to match the cinematic melodies. He continues to rampup the energy levels for Boys & Girls with some impressive falsetto vocals.
Gray returns to the stage for an encore after an outfit change wearing a cropped- top saying ‘Burger Jesus’ across it. A disco ball comes down from the ceiling as the dance-pop trackBourgeoisieses is played live for the very first time. He continues with fan-favourite Maniac and the emotional ballad Alley Rose to finish.
Words by Michael Prebeg
