Words by Mark Griffin.

Photography by Taylah Chapman.

We’re at The Factory Theatre in Marrickville for Gabriel Paris. It’s a cool venue, heaps of outdoor space for the bar and food trucks and then a bunch of different sized theatres purposely built for live performances. The bar is well stocked, other than having Pepsi instead of Coke, and Island Boys are providing Sydney’s best jerk chicken. So, the pre-show vibes are solid.

There’s two solo, acoustic acts up before Gabriel, and both Zac Sellars and Ally George are impressive. A sizeable crowd has built up in the al fresco area, and pretty much everyone heads inside to catch the openers. Zac has a hell of a voice and keeps the crowd entertained with his storytelling, particular on the fairly personal, Barcelona Love.

Ally also has an outstanding voice and a great sense of humour between songs as well. She’s definitely an artist I’d expect to see higher up the billing soon.

The crowd is dotted with a slew of familiar faces from the local music scene, which is a testament to Gabriel’s talent and also just how supportive the local scene is. Gabriel hits the stage and is immediately a showman. The band plays a kind of introduction song and Gabriel takes his time revving the crowd up. From there he doesn’t really let up. Constantly engaging, and always playing to the very back of the room, Gabriel is in control from the moment he steps on stage.

His band is tight and the music has a kind of anthemic quality, sort of Birds of Toyko meets Gang of Youths with a healthy dose of 2023 indie-pop. In keeping with the openers, Gabriel has an amazing voice. He’s also brought a few special guests and the crowd is very excited when Gabriel is joined on stage by his girlfriend and local artist in her own right, Sammi Constantine. The two sing their duet, Roses, and it’s a beautiful moment. Watching it, it almost feels like we are interrupting a private, intimate moment.

But the true special guests are Gabriel’s parents who join him onstage to provide the musical accompaniment to his duet with Sammi.

After the duet, Gabriel kicks it back up a gear to bring the show home and closes it out with a flawless cover of Coldplay’s Fix You.

We’re in one of the smaller rooms at The Factory Theatre, but it’s pretty well packed and I can’t imagine Gabriel will be playing rooms this size for much longer if he keeps performing on this level. So that’s my tip, get in now to see Gabriel Paris while you can still see him at venue that serves just the best Jerk Chicken, and while you’re there ask them to serve Coke.