The streets of Pittsburgh were packed with fans who packed and flocked to PPG Paints Arena on Sunday, October 13th. Once the doors opened for fans, the seats started to fill up and almost the entire arena was packed with fans wearing oversized t-shirts, bandanas and t-shirts. Long denim shorts, waiting for their chance to watch Billie Eilish perform live. Fans ranged from children to grandparents as we rushed through metal detectors to get to our seats.
Eilish had one opening act for her concert, Nat and Alex Wolff, brothers and co-singers in their band. They had great crowd interaction throughout their set, and most of the crowd was excited to see a familiar face in one of the brothers, Alex: Spencer from the 2017 “Jumanji” revival. They ended their set with an Eilish-produced song called “Soft Kissing Hour.” Their set was full of music I’d never heard before, and honestly, I didn’t know their band even existed. However, I left that concert wanting to add their songs to my playlist.
After Wolf’s opening set, we waited about 30 minutes while the stage was rearranged for Eilish to perform. While we waited, Eilish showed a video on the screens promoting her mother’s business, Support + Feed. Along with Eilish and her brother Finneas, their mother Maggie Byrd fights for sustainability in the music industry. It was a great way to pass the time and listen to something Eilish loves while learning how we can all get involved in their mission.
The stage was large and had two pits on each side where the players performed, giving Eilish the entire stage to herself. As the lights went down, an instrumental version of her hit song “THE GREATEST” began blasting throughout the arena while a cage with screens across each of its four sides began to descend from the three screens above the stage, revealing Eilish inside. As soon as the cage started to lower, the crowd exploded knowing she was there, down to the stage and about to start the show.
Eilish then began the show with “CHIHIRO,” a song from her new album “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT.” After singing this song, Eilish took some time to interact with the audience and acknowledge her opening. She told everyone that Nat and Alex were really good friends of hers, and it was great to tour with them and “have them hang out” with her.
Projectors were used on the stage floor for each song to add color and visuals along with screens above to add an extra element to their performance. During her performance of “Ocean Eyes,” water was projected onto the floor onto screens in the cage to create the effect of crashing waves. During the song “BIRDS OF A FEATHER”, the stage is a field of flowers, mirroring the music video playing above.
Eilish played crowd favorites throughout her two-and-a-half-hour set, including songs from each album like “NDA,” “ilomilo,” “TV,” and “bury a friend.” Each of her songs got as much shouting from the audience as the song played before. The energy in that arena was over the top, and I have never been to a concert that was this loud and supportive before. I’ve been to many concerts in my life spanning across different genres, and I can confidently say that Eilish had the most crowd interaction and performance out of all the concerts.
After her performance of “WILDFLOWER,” the lights and flash disappeared as Eilish sat in the middle of the stage under the floodlights. She asked the entire audience to remain silent while she sang her vocals live for her performance of “When the Party’s Over.” It was incredible to witness her sheer raw talent singing into the microphone and laying down her voice in complete and utter silence.
In the middle of her set, Eilish took a short break to introduce two of her oldest friends to sing with her on “TV.” Although she would have been a crowd favorite under any circumstances, her singing with her friends was something the crowd was incredibly supportive of.
After ending her performance with her song “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” she took a moment to talk to us before leaving the stage. She told us that she never wanted us to feel like she wasn’t there, and that even if she couldn’t be with us physically, she was there for us. Before leaving the stage, she ended her speech by saying, “I will always be there to fight for you and support you in everything that you are.”
For those who think that Eilish can’t sing, that she “mumbles into her microphone”, I invite you to attend one of her concerts. I have never experienced such raw talent coming out of one person in my entire life. Eilish has cemented her role as one of the greatest artists of this generation.
