How can an artist who’s reached superstar status maintain the intimacy that their career was built on? For Billie Eilish, it’s a tricky dance and a trajectory I’ve seen play out first-hand. Around early 2016 an invite to a performance by an artist a publicist was very excited about popped into my email. “Hi love,” the message said. “Just wondering, did you get a chance to check out 14-year-old Billie Eilish?” With that, I ventured to a basement venue on New York City’s Lower East Side and witnessed one of her earliest sets. It was an impressive display of performance and songwriting. How could this girl be 14 and this good?
In many ways, what Eilish has done in the past eight years makes her a mind-boggling exception in a cutthroat here today, gone today industry, all while inviting people into her mind and home. I don’t need to tell you about her smashes and ubiquity, there’s no need to rehash her string of awards. You’ve probably heard the wispy first lines in the form of “When did it end …” from What Was I Made For?; a culturally defining song from a culturally defining movie, more times than you can count. The talent is apparent, and it’s hammered over our collective heads on a regular basis.
You’re also probably aware that she released an album earlier this year which saw her go from the emo sound that defined her to the fluffy Birds of a Feather. Switching up one’s sound is a death trap for any artist, but not for Eilish; it bequeathed her with even more success. She won me over even more with the seemingly bubblier persona; Birds of a Feather fits right in at a pool party; music that’s a lot more fun than her past hits about darker topics like depression. In many ways her week’s three-night stint at Madison Square Garden, which then blends into her fourth appearance on Saturday Night Live later this week, feels like a well-deserved victory lap.
Eilish lore is that she is the ultimate bedroom artist; concocting her sound like a mad scientist in the modest Highland Park home she shared with her parents when she became a household name. In that sense, she translated that intimacy to the arena stage which was bare aside from two pits of musicians and some fancy projections (including crashing waves while she delivered Ocean Eyes). And if you were wondering if the arena was illuminated in brat green for a performance of her sensual and slightly immature Guess, well, you’d guess correctly that it was.
While I recall walking down a quiet, dark set of stairs to mix in with a scattered crowd back in 2016, in order to attend her first night at the Garden I took at least four escalators to make my way inside. Along the way, I noticed the crowd was decidedly made up of Eilish acolytes; the majority girls around her age who presumably grew up with her; many dressed exactly in her baggy, throwback vibes. (For better or for worse, for these girls EIlish is a style icon.) Aptly, even the merch for the Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour reflected this similar mood: bright yellow T-shirts (retail price $50) and oversized hoodies ($125) with bold, exaggerated designs seemingly borrowed from the early 90s playbook of hip-hop acts like the Beastie Boys and NWA.
Dressed in a knit cap, oversized button-down olive green jacket, baggy black shorts and chunky black boots, she looked ready for battle; appearing atop a huge digital rectangle. Off the bat, she ran through a bevy of hits; one after the other in quick rope-a-dope succession, keeping the crowd on its feet. Her handle on the audience showed as pyrotechnics sparkled. The anger of a song like Therefore I Am (with a chorus that croons “I’m not your friend …”) was complemented by fireballs exploding around her as her dutiful crowd sang along to every syllable. Eilish is the master of playful confidence, a quality on full display.
“Hi guys …” she’d say with the same enthusiasm as someone meeting up with a couple friends; whether or not the attitude is meant to be friendly, it worked, before launching into fervent musical bursts, which were welcomed with open arms and further demonstrated a command. I couldn’t help but remember Eilish’s recent comments where she noted that making an audience sit through a three-hour show is “literally psychotic”. I was bracing myself for a quick in and out. But if you were expecting brevity, Eilish doesn’t deliver that either: the current setlist boasts 26 songs, mixing it up enough to keep things moving for the TikTok generation; the concert going by in a burst of energy. It moved fast and furious.
At one point, she laid down as if she was on her living room floor after a long day; instructing the audience to keep quiet as she recorded and layered looped vocals for a harmony of the aforementioned When the Party’s Over. I got the sense I should be on a couch nearby. She then instructed complete silence and naturally, aside from an errant woo, the audience did not let her down. It made for another intimate moment, showing off her vocal prowess; an underdog quality of an immense talent.
And just like inviting some friends over to hang out on a lazy Friday night home, she did the same with a duo she introduced as Ava and Jane to sing Male Fantasy; pals she decided to bring on tour. Another special guest came in the form of Finneas; with Eilish bringing out her brother (who recently released his sophomore solo album For Cryin’ Out Loud) for what was probably their millionth rendition of What Was I Made For? It was like seeing someone sing Jingle Bells at a Christmas show. Perhaps it’s essential, but after hearing it so many times, it almost becomes too much; a bittersweet pitfall of ubiquity.
Eilish made sure to muse about how grateful she was to her fans (“You’re so deep in my heart”). She knows full well that these are the people who helped her ascend from her parent’s house and small clubs to a modern form of global fame few ever reach, all while managing to maintain the intimacy that effectively endears her. It was an intimacy she somehow successfully translated into what’s dubbed the World’s Most Famous Arena. Some people get lost in it, but Eilish saw it as her living room. Needless to say, it was fun to come over and hang out.
Source: theguardian.com
