Live Review: G Flip, The Beaches @ Riverstage, Brisbane

As the gentle rain began to intensify, G launched into fan favourites, setting the pace for what would be a soaking-wet, massive set covering their three records.

G Flip

The pink-bathed stage cut to black, and the audience went wild in anticipation for G Flip and the first Australian show of their Dream Ride tour.

As the gentle rain began to intensify, G took to the stage, launching into fan favourite, Disco Cowgirl, setting the pace of what would be a soaking wet, massive set covering the Melbourne-born artist's three records.

Gay 4 Me was the second track, and halfway through the song, G Flip picked up a huge LGBTQIA+ flag, which they waved from side to side, naturally met with screams of pride and love for the artist and advocate.

A highlight of the show was whenever G was on drums, and there was more than one long solo, like when they performed Good Enough, and later on, when G Flip was playing drums with another two drummers, and the three were in a drum-off that lasted a deliciously long time and built momentum for the hits to come.

Big Ol’ Hammer was a fun performance, with G and their bandmates momentarily disappearing from the stage into their white muscle tee (G) and mechanic shirts (bandmates) to pay homage to the iconic, sexy video clip. The chorus lyrics were flashing on the screen in neon pink, with those ‘Hoo’, ‘Ha’ and ‘Woo’ being chanted and likely heard from the other side of the Brisbane River.

G Flip performed their famous Cruel Summer cover from Taylor Swift, and even had a Swift photo flash onto the screen throughout the performance. When G Flip spoke with The Music in 2024, they said the track immediately appealed to them for its drumming potential, and it was released and dominated the airwaves while G Flip was touring in 2024.

Australia was performed acoustically, with G Flip bringing a stool right up to the front of the stage, unaccompanied. This intimacy rippled through the crowd, revealing a softer side to the energetic G and a dramatic pace change in the show.

The encore was Worst Person Alive and In Another Life, showcasing a different range: the former Is probably G’s best-known song, and the latter a more considered choice, but it left the crowd well looked after.

In the lead-up to the first show, G had been promising special guests, with speculation growing across the stage about when they would arrive and who they would be.

We were not disappointed when Brisbane-born Thelma Plum took the stage to perform her award-winning Back in Blak with G on the drums. Thelma crouched a few times to hold the hands of those in the front row of the mosh, and then shared a long cuddle with G when the song ended. This reveal suggests that, in every city G plays, there will be a special guest from an artist native to that destination.

Unlike the US tour that G had just wrapped up, the Australian leg featured more intimate content from the artist.

At a few points in the show, the screen would show a younger G in their room playing music, and before About You played, there was a video of a 2018 G talking to their camera saying that they had spent the entire year before in their bedroom writing music and stoked that triple j had picked up About You, with a promise that 2018 would be the year of G Flip.

G Flip spoke directly to the audience during this song, “Anyone who has supported me since my About You era, I love you,” they said. “Thank you for being there from the start. Thank you for supporting me. Thank you for being my rock and coming to all my shows. I really never thought this would be possible, and I appreciate you all so much. You’ve really made my life what it is. It’s such a dream that I get to do this for a living with my best friends.”

G is not shy about their curiosity and persistence in learning instruments and mastering their craft, and that was on full display last night with G on vocals, drums, guitar and saxophone as they danced around the stage.

Any G fan will tell you just how empathetic they are, but that was on full display when G started the show with seven “Cheeky house rules” about how we were all to act. Some of them were to restrict anyone from being a dickhead, demanding respect of the queer community and an instruction to turn a phone light on and flash it up if anyone near you is on the ground and needs assistance.

Sadly, somebody did need assistance, and the speed with which G cut the vocals and instruments and yelled for the lights to come on was impressive. They also asked their fans for complete and utter silence so the paramedics and guards could intervene and collect the person in need. To be at a packed, outdoor event where you can hear a pin drop was surreal and even when the odd fan was overcome with the need to yell that they loved G, they replied with ‘Shhhh!’

Support act, The Beaches warmed the lightly soaked crowd of seven thousand punters with their pacey anthems about heartbreak, rubbish guys and the women they loved.

The set started with Last Girls at the Party, an indie rock hit that had the four Canadian bandmates bouncing around the stage for their first show of G Flip’s Australian leg of their tour.

By the time the set ended, The Beaches had earned the devotion of anyone unfamiliar with them, with the cheers roaring as they closed with Blame Brett from their second album, Blame My Ex, which was written about frontwoman Jordan Miller’s breakup from Brett Emmons from The Glorious Sons.

We love tea from our artists, and it was clear The Beaches were there to dish. At one point, Jordan dedicated a song to “Kylie with a K in the audience. She used to date a Brett, and now she is a lesbian.” This was met with wild cheering from the queer-friendly audience that always shows up in large numbers to support G Flip.

Next week, G Flip and The Beaches will release their joint track, Lez Go! This was the second-to-last song G performed before Bed on Fire, followed by an encore. The Beaches joined G on stage for the track, accompanied by beach balls which were hit out to the audience and then bounced back.

G announced that there were two punters who were showing elite dance moves throughout the show that they wanted to invite to the stage, and so two young little girls, Molly and Scarlett, intorduced themsleves and danced with G and The Beaches for the whole song.

At one point, G asked the audience, “What is it, what are you saying? My fly is undone? Not with kids on stage!” This was met with laughter and was one of the many spontaneous moments of connection through the show, with G in a constant reflection and gratitude for their fans and those who turned out last night.

G Flip will continue their tour on March 3 in Sydney.