LIVE: MACHINE GUN KELLY – Perth, 8 April 2026

LIVE: MACHINE GUN KELLY – Perth, 8 April 2026
RAC Arena, Perth, Western Australia
Reviewed by Tia Pinnegar
Photography by Luke Baker

Machine Gun Kelly (MGK) kicked off his Australian tour in Perth (or ‘Perf’ as he said it) last night at RAC arena, which was an undisputable success. Support act Honestav warmed the stage up with awesome energy, reiterating to the audience how grateful he was to be there several times. His set unfortunately got cut short with music surprisingly being blared over the RAC arena speakers and the band being told to leave the stage, but Kelly later brought Honestav out on stage during a later song for a few more wholesome minutes of stage time.

Kelly’s dramatic entrance to the stage was endorsed by an ominous voice over about how legends are made, leading into his tour name – The Lost Americana Tour – and immediate start of first song “Outlaw Overture” to begin his roughly 2 hour set. Dead centre in Kelly’s stage design was a large statue of Lady Liberty’s head, adorned with a joint between her lips which later acted as a smoke gun. Kelly’s microphone stand was shaped to resemble a cigarette that was a little worn, that came complete with cig butts “put out” on the base of the stand.

His first words to the audience were yelling “First time back in Australia since I got caught with that cocaine,” closely followed by “yesterday I was outside fucking with your roo’s,” receiving a hilariously mixed reaction. Kelly was very invested in the audience from the moment he got on the stage to the moment he left and had a very exciting stage presence, successfully getting many giggles from the audience in return for his cheeky banter throughout the show.

MGK’s band had amazing energy, especially his guitarists who produced some impressive guitar riffs. It was nice to see some diversity in his band, they all worked together seamlessly, from headbanging in unison to shredding guitar back-to-back with each other. Kelly also had two dancers on stage with him throughout the show, but although they did their job very well, they didn’t seem strictly necessary.

Later in the show the execution of “My Bloody Valentine” was done beautifully and was dedicated to all the women in the audience: “women – get on some shoulders this song is about you!” Seconds after this declaration Kelly brought out a gaggle of women and children to dance through the song with him (presumably fans, but provenance unknown) – including announcing a congratulations to a gorgeous pregnant lady sharing the stage with him.

Towards the end of his show a montage of his daughter Casie growing up with him was shown up on the screen while he performed “Play This When I’m Gone,” a song he wrote for her. Kelly brought the tone down for this performance flawlessly, it was almost tearjerking.

It was disappointing Kelly didn’t address the state of America right now at all during his set, especially considering his whole “Lost Americana” tour is based on and promoted around the American image. If anything is lost about America right now it is the freedom and independence the nation is famous for – perhaps the reasoning behind Lady Liberty being on the stage was a “nod” to America’s democracy inching towards being figuratively beheaded. If so it is arguably too subtle of a “nod” towards the current horrible state of America.

In saying that though, Kellys performance last night was nothing short of spectacular, his vocals were very impressive but more than anything he put on a really entertaining show, from the flame canons bathing the stage in pyro, to his spark-shooting guitar, his lighting a joint onstage, through to his unhinged banter, there wasn’t a dull moment throughout the whole two hours.

Set List:

Outlaw Overture
Starman
Don’t Wait Run Fast
Maybe / Wild Boy / El Diablo
Ay!
F*CK YOU, GOODBYE
Candy
Fix Your Face
God Damn
I Think I’m Okay
Title Track
Drunk Face
Misery Business
Bloody Valentine
Forget Me Too
Glass House / Times Of My Life / I Miss You / 27 / Til I Die
Daywalker
Concert For Aliens
My Ex’s Best Friend
Jawbreaker
Nothin’ Inside
Play This When I’m Gone
Paper Cuts
Lonely Road
Cliché
Sweet Coraline
Vampire Diaries

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries