Hi,
Gracie Abrams has started her run of shows on The Secret Of Us Tour around New Zealand and Australia with her opener, Ashe and I was lucky enough to attend the second night of the Sydney leg. We bought the tickets when they were first released last year so this has been a long and exciting wait.
When we first arrived to the venue, all I could see was bows, skirts and pastel blues/yellows. This is to fit Gracie's aesthetic. I too was wearing a navy blue shirt, striped blue & white pants, red converses and a red bow in my hair. The crowd surrounding the outside of the arena had a very homely feeling. It was mostly teenage girls and they were conversing with one another, often rather excitingly despite having never met before. Multiple girls asked me to take photos of them while I did the same. Though I was not General Admission, I did wander over there and those in the line were trading bracelets as well as discussing their fangirl moments, even if they had probably just met each other a few hours ago. It probably felt like one of the safest spaces and it honestly was like one big friend group.
The merch line was also relatively simple to get through. I arrived later than I normally do to a concert and upon sight, the line wasn't enormous with the staff exceptionally friendly. I got a Secret Of Us Tour hoodie (very good quality) and I am definitely wearing it as we approach winter. I also had some nachos next to the merch tent and while it was expensive, they gave us so much sour cream and guacamole, that it was worth it.
After we passed security checks, with our bags making it through smoothly, we arrived to our seats to find we had an amazing view. I was honestly closer than what I imagined and could see the B stage covered up. When Ashe arrived, even through my terrible phone zoom, you could still spot exactly where she was on stage. She was amazing! I only knew a few of her songs but I definitely recommend checking her out. Ashe got us hyped and ready for Gracie as well as singing a cover of 'Vampire' by Olivia Rodrigo to make the audience go wild.
Gracie, or her team, picked out some amazing songs while we waited for her. She knew her target audience and most people were singing along so loudly, that you might have thought the concert had already started. When she did arrive, the cheers got so amplified and I thought my ears were going to pop. She hasn't even arrived yet and the stage hadn't given any indication she was about to start, but those down the very front could see some movement and started cheering, so we followed suit.
Gracie sung a two hour setlist with some incredible songs on it. I lost my voice at the third because she played Blowing Smoke, which is one of my absolute favourites. I was up on my feet for most of it, and of course I videoed the whole thing. Most people say it ruins the experience of the concert but I prefer having them to relieve the experience. I just hold my phone but still sing, vibe and even if my videos come out shaky and not instagram-worthy, you can still look back on them. I prefer the ones where you can hear me screeching because you know I had a good time.
During her surprise song, she sung 'This is what the drugs are for' from Good Riddance. I had been discussing what song she might do before we entered the arena, as she had only done covers for the Aus/NZ leg of the tour so far, and I said, Good Riddance. When she started introducing the song, saying, 'its from Good Riddance', you better believe I screamed 'I called it'.
When she had wrapped up, with 'Close to You' to get everyone on their feet, and actually left, I was left with a sense of astonishment. I always end concerts with the feeling of 'it actually ended?'. Then we were caught up in the crowd of everyone trying to escape as well as the loud voices ringing around dissecting the concert. Made it home right on midnight.
I had one of the best times ever at TSOU tour and Gracie sung, danced and entertained us for a massive two hours with some banger songs (still hoping that one day I can hear Best live) and I only have half a voice left the next day.
Here's a video of Gracie singing, 'That's so True', (video owned by me):
Until next time!