Billie Eilish took the Brisbane Entertainment Center stage on Saturday 17 September, for the first of three shows in the Sunshine State, along her 'Happier Than Ever' world tour.
The thought of sharing a room with one of the world's most respected and gifted artists sent me into a Wayne and Garth-style meltdown.
I am not worthy.
And yet, there I was about to lay eyes on the only twenty-year-old with seven Grammys under her belt. No biggie.
When the house lights went down and the roar of the crowd transformed into chants of "BILLIE, BILLIE, BILLIE", flickers of white scattered lights immediately turned those words into howls. It was time.
The sounds to follow washed over the crowd. Heavy and ominous, building into a crescendo that possessed the melody of the night’s first track; ‘Bury A Friend’.
Eilish made her presence known by capitulating through the stage floor, launching high and landing heavy. The sea of people met her entry with loud enthusiasm and raw devotion.
Venturing straight into her setlist, high energy coupled with dark and menacing themes paid homage to her ‘When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?’ era.
Strobing black, red, and white lights revealed her one and only outfit for the night. An oversized tee and bike-short combo, printed with headshots of women, coupled with black strapping tape along her calves and signature black hair strung up in two pig-tail buns.
“It’s good to see you again, Brisbane.”
As Billie opened dialogue with her audience, she set three rules for the evening: 1) Don’t be mean 2) No judging, and 3) Have fun. Simple, effective, and for those well-versed in the Eilish universe, goes without saying.
Joined on stage by producer, brother, and mastermind behind the Elish empire stood Finneas on the keys and guitar. He was met cross-stage by Andrew Marshall on the drums, proving Billie was in very good company.
Throughout the evening, she flirted back and forth between her latest album and those from earlier in her career. Tracks from ‘Happier Than Ever’ revealed a mature, stripped-back and at times, sensual, sound as opposed to her former works projecting attitude, emotion and contortion; both equally adored by the admirable vociferation of the crowd.
What seemed to pull heavy on the heartstrings of her day-dot admires was when she dipped into the archives bringing out debut releases from her 2017 EP ‘don't smile at me’.
Towards the tail-end of the evening, Billie entered a flying cage at the back of the arena to perform ‘ocean eyes’, ‘bellyache’ and ‘Bored’. Her sheer loveliness transcended amongst waves of floating flashlights, with her delicate voice turning those beneath into wet puddles of love.
After over an hour of holding 13,500 hearts in the palm of her hand, it was time for Billie to say goodbye to all of her newly made friends.
Closing the show with ‘Happier Than Ever’ sent one final shockwave through the crowd, bypassing the floating confetti dancing in the air. The purge of emotions when screaming the lyrics ‘You made me hate this city!!!!’ turned out to be the therapy session we all needed.
Thank you, Billie, for putting on a mind-morphing and heart-melting show. You left us feeling lighter, and happier, than ever.
