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Australian singer and drummer G Flip brought big-dick energy to the Crystal Ballroom on Oct. 29. The proudly nonbinary reality TV personality from Netflix’s Selling Sunset performed songs from their new album, Dream Ride, which came out in September. The queer dreamboat’s vigor and vitality throbbed throughout the modestly inhabited venue, with sapphics in the audience emphatically matching the performer’s energy and excitement.
Bounding onstage with a raised fist, G Flip led their set with Dream Ride single “Disco Cowgirl.” Rocking orange aviators and a muscle tank paired with black cargo pants, G Flip looked like a cross between a Wild Fang advertisement and Bruce Springsteen, the latter of whom is credited as a Dream Ride inspiration. Never shy to display the range of their multi-instrumental artistry, G Flip played a one-artist band with an acoustic guitar, bass guitar and drums. They blew the crowd away with an epic saxophone solo side by side with their keytarist, Big Ol’ Hammer.
While mostly playing new songs, G Flip included such fan favorites as an acoustic version of “Australia” and the upbeat banger “The Worst Person Alive.” The former music teacher bounced between instruments and corners of the stage—and at times into the audience—with the liveliness of an ADHD Energizer Rabbit, batteries included. Their only sign of fatigue was not winded vocals or beads of sweat, but their own admission that they were “knackered,” before the encore, “In Another Life.”
In the two years since their last Portland appearance at the Star Theater, it is clear G Flip’s visibility and fan base have grown. Their 2023 performance was a true dream ride, and although G Flip embodied enough charisma to fill the gaps in at the Crystal this time around, their next visit might be better fitted for a room more like Wonder Ballroom or the Hawthorne Theatre, at least until more Portlanders catch on to G Flip’s infectious charm.
