It was around 10:30 pm on Johnston Street at the end of March when I found myself in Dusty’s, and inside was a man named Mark William Lewis. I introduced myself, before asking, “Do you happen to be Mark William Lewis?”. The man replied that he was. 

It was through this instance of what I can only call divine intervention that I managed to secure myself a spot on the door for his performance—which I was truly desperate to go to—at The Night Cat on Tuesday, the thirty-first of March. 

For those not in the know, Mark William Lewis is one of many artists to recently emerge from the London underground scene, defined by his melancholic blend of dream-pop, indie folk and jazz. From 2021 - 2022, Lewis made his mark on the scene working with bar italia (including the single “Thinner” with their lead singer Nina Cristante). His debut EP, 2021’s Pleasure is Everything came to my attention through my exploration of the scene a couple years back. His aesthetic is reflected in other London acts like Dean Blunt and Joanne Robertson: low-res album art, genre-blending, that whole all-lowercase thing. 

My encounters with the man weren’t over yet. At his suggestion, I found myself at Hope St Radio in Fitzroy for his DJ set later that night. Not wanting to push my luck, I simply introduced myself as “the guy from this morning”, to which we shook hands, spoke briefly, and I promptly fled back outside. I can also attest to his great musical taste—his set consisted of a diverse range of British classics: The Durutti Column, The Streets, The Smiths, all of which bleed into Lewis’s sound both on stage and in the studio. 

For the early birds, the opener was the Melbourne-based duo Prophetic Justice Ministry, who played a woozy set of folkish ballads backed up by electronic percussion and ambient chords. They certainly set the tone for the night, and I recommend seeking them out if that’s what you’re into. 

10 pm: out came Mark. He opened with “Socialising”, off his most recent project, the self-titled Mark William Lewis, which made up most of his setlist. The song opened slow and melancholy as Lewis’ quintessentially English, deep, lullaby-esque voice travelled throughout the venue and into its red-lit corners. He followed this up with “Cold Paris Vogue”, a favourite of mine and, if you hadn’t guessed, the namesake of this article. 

I, and the rest of the crowd, were already quite enamoured by Lewis and his band. I must mention the couplet of “Pleasure is Everything” and “Petals”. The former, a purely instrumental track, felt like a real testament to Mark and his band’s talent. I don’t think anyone felt shy about how much they were enjoying it. He continued into the jangly, rhythmic, harmonica-tinged “Petals". Lewis sang, “We had the best connection, we’re kind of similar, I guess”. 

Before I go further, I must compliment his enormous lung capacity on the harmonica throughout the night. It was Dylan-esque how he incorporates its droning with his guitars, both ambient and acoustic. My mind goes to that one tweet about “how it feels to play Bob Dylan in the car and that loud ass harmonica comes in”. 

The set continued onward, with “Still Above”, “Recent Future”, and “Spit”. This represented a sort of apex of Lewis’ performance, who by now had gone electric. Lewis continued into his most recent hit for the penultimate song: “Tomorrow is Perfect”, before going loud again for the elusive closer “Anyone” (a song taken from his ‘Sparkles 22-24’ mixtape of previously unreleased material). We all felt it, the harmonica blared, the energy was high, and before we knew it, Mark William Lewis bid us farewell with love (we love you too Mark) and exited stage left. 

11:30 pm: We emerged from The Night Cat, my knuckles red, the warm Fitzroy air rolling over me. 

Mark William Lewis (and of course his bandmates Jamie Neville, Billy Howard Price, and Harry Plomer) made for an incredible night of live music. If you’re ever able to make your way to one of his shows, or encounter him in a coffee shop, don’t think twice.