Gracie in All Her Grandeur 

Abrams made Qudos Bank Arena feel intimate on the second of three sold-out shows

Gracie Abrams’ penultimate sold-out show at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena boasted the power of the Teenage Fangirl. Led by Gracie – one of our very own – and exceptional opening act Ashe, 21,000 screaming fans found catharsis and empowerment by composing what Abrams called “one big, big friend group.” Armed with bows in hair and friends’ shoulders in hand, fans enjoyed the privilege of spending Saturday evening witnessing Gracie in all her grandeur as she alternated between an electric guitar and a cozy recreation of her childhood bedroom.

Abrams’ sophomore album, The Secret of Us, earned widespread critical acclaim and commercial success, building on the burgeoning star-status she acquired opening for Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour. While thus far the LP is her magnum opus, Abrams reminded us that she has been eloquently articulating her most intimate feelings of loneliness and insecurity for the better half of a decade. She played older fan favorites like ‘Camden,’ ‘Friend,’ and ‘21,’ time capsules into the tribulations of her earlier years, but dressed them up with The Secret of Us-style instrumentation. In this way, Abrams gives her older songs renewed life with her continuously expanding audience while still reflecting her contemporary sonic sophistication and evolution.

As Abrams explained, ‘Camden’ was a late addition to the tour’s setlist, its inclusion the result of fans having expressed that “they care about it.” It was warm feedback that “initially made her cry.” Abrams’ consideration of her fans and their connection to her music was palpable throughout the show, as she accepted thoughtful gifts, borrowed phones to record videos, and took careful consideration to learn names and listen to personal stories. While she belted ‘Mess It Up,’ one fan offered her a personally woven tapestry that read “met u at the right time,” a reference to the eponymous track of her 2021 EP This Is What It Feels Like, which she wrote about her relationship with her best friend and collaborator, Audrey Hobert. Abrams paraded it around the stage until she managed to find a sufficient home for the memento by hanging it on a guitar stand, where it would decorate the stage for the remainder of the evening. 

‘Normal Thing’ was a highlight, its lyricism made even more poignant live. Fans sang along with fervor, as if it were their own diary entries being read on stage, and clutched their friends when reciting particularly cutting lines like “And you changed my life but I guess I’ll see ya.” ‘Free Now’ was also a standout, with electric guitar in place of the studio version’s subtle synth elevating it into a two-act pop rock anthem that was only ever meant to be played in an arena packed with people hanging onto every last line. Sydney was happy to oblige. The song’s build-up is one of the best in her discography, accented by reflections on a relationship that never materialized and the unique difficulties of mourning it: “You were straight up with me, you were so kind/But I knew what you knew, honey, great minds.” ‘Tough Love’ was also one of her best; evidently, the audience had been waiting for the opportunity to sing these particularly scathing lyrics back to Abrams with their whole chests. “No chance I’d waste my twenties on random men/Not one of them is cooler than all my friends.” Abrams is right – there’s no chance she’ll be making that mistake. And, so it seems, neither will any of her 21,000 closest friends. 

Abrams traveled to the B-Stage for a more mellow yet equally gratifying portion of the set, offering piano renditions of ‘This is what the drugs are for,’ ‘Cool,’ and ‘I Miss You, I’m Sorry.’ She took time to converse with a fan who had made a Barbie depicting her in one of her tour outfits, with a handwritten note which Abrams promised she would read later to avoid crying in the middle of the show. While taking Polaroids of each quadrant of the crowd for her scrapbook, she explained that the B-Stage, a replica of the room in which she grew up and wrote all her songs, serves as an important reminder of where she first got to know her fanbase. “Because before I started putting music out ‘for real,’ I posted things on SoundCloud and Instagram…and that’s how a lot of us found each other. And it was basically like having pen pals,” she reflected. “I wanted to bring this space to you for the first time in real life…because I can’t fathom being in rooms like this now,” referencing the massive arena which she had sold out – three times. While she has shed her reputation as an ‘underground’ artist, Abrams has clearly retained the intimacy with which she is able to communicate with her audience.

Gracie with gifts from fans

The set culminated in an encore of her viral singles ‘That’s So True’ and ‘Close To You.’ “Thank you so much for every single second of this evening. Please dance with us one last time,” Abrams asked of her listeners before the final chorus of ‘Close To You,’ though her eager audience required little instruction. The crowd erupted into a sea of physically expressive joy, as friends jumped and shrieked and immortalized their excitement with photos and videos they would surely peruse long after the show ended in hopes of reliving the unabashed expression that Abrams so expertly fostered. 

Both a product and producer of music written for young women, Abrams cultivates a shared space for her audience to express and understand their own joy, heartbreak, and pain. The timeless value of this creation, while consistently underestimated, can never be quantified. Fans left remnants of their glitter and renewed optimism in the arena; while the former would be cleaned ahead of Night 3, the latter will likely be harder to shake.

Featured Photograph by Gabriella Hughes.