Right before 10:00 A.M. on Thursday morning, it was announced that Olivia Rodrigo would be playing an incredibly intimate show (for her) at Brooklyn's Warsaw venue in Greenpoint. Tickets were available at the door only on a first come first served basis and sold out instantly. Just after 8:00 P.M., she took the stage for one of her first concerts since the release of her excellent third album you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love and played a lot of the songs from the record live for the first time in addition to some of her biggest past hits and some other selections thrown in for the die hard fans who braved the extreme heat to get tickets. As the lights went down and the screams carried throughout the ballroom, Rodrigo and her all-female backing band took to the stage and immediately hit us with "drop dead," the lead single and opening track from the new album and proceeded to take full command of the room and prove that she's way more than the latest pop princess. Holding the room in the palm of her hand, she led her devoted fans through the infectious chorus which seamlessly led to the live debut of "u + me = <3" which took off towards the stratosphere and never looked back. As she hit the chorus, the entire room erupted so much so that my friend leaned over to me and proclaimed "wow, this is Beatlemania-esque!" in terms of the admiration and ear-splitting screams that echoed around the venue. However, where her past shows were a welcome gathering space for her young fans, this one was full of an older crowd that showcased Rodrigo's ability to transcend generations and identified her as not just a voice for a new generation, but one who deserves the accolades from those who've come before her as well. Instantly, the roof was blown off the venue and the sweltering heat added to the endurance test that the evening would become, but as the sweat poured down our faced, Olivia made sure to keep raising the stakes to match the intensity of the night. "stupid song" was another gem that got her to work the crowd and seeing her at such an even level as her audience really helped to make it clear just how passionate she is about her music and how her punk inspiration radiates through everything she's doing. When she hit the synth-pop riffs of "bad idea right?" came through, it was another rapturous moment where the crowd shrieked with excitement and the '90s alt-rock energy hit with extreme purpose that saw her get right in the face of the audience to make it clear she was just as thrilled to be there as everyone rushing the barricade. As she took to the piano for "honeybee," things settled ever so slightly and even as the temperature seemed to soar, everything else wound down and gave her the space to really shine as people began to shhh those around them for not paying adequate respect (more of this please, btw). At this point in her career, her debut single feels so far off from the aesthetic she's curated ever-since but when "drivers license" arrive at the midpoint of the night, things reached new heights. Hands waved in the air and when the music cut, the crowd joined together to belt out the chorus with epic force and the band caught it all at just the right moment to bring the song to its pinnacle moment. Fused with rock precision and hard hitting choruses, Rodrigo's band was perfectly tight and ripped the songs to shreds and added to her smoking demeanor as she stalked the stage to deliver these proto-grunge anthems and "maggots for brains" was another stellar number that cranked the distorted guitars to the max before the comedown of "the cure." After noting the complexity of writing the song itself, the alt-rock ballad made for another epic crowd interaction as everyone echoed her call of "I'm unravelled" with extreme emotions. Following "less" with "expectations" set the night into its final orbit as the '80s synth-punk pop gem took on its material girl elements and injected the right amount of spunk to make it a modern new wave classic for the next generation. The seismic riffs reverberated around the room and when she instructed the guys in the room to hit the lower register of the backing vocals while her girlies hit the chorus, it made for a big magical experience. Closing it all out with two classics, "good 4 u" was the pop-punk anthem that got the crowd hyped one final time as "deja vu" brought it all to an end with triumphant fashion. With the temperatures hitting the max, the performance was a raw and intimate showing from one of the biggest pop stars in the world and she unquestionably made it clear that she doesn't need theatrics or effects to make her show a spectacle, she's the real thing on her own.
Set list:
02 "u + me = <3"
03 "stupid song"
04 "my way"
05 "bad idea right?"
06 "honeybee"
07 "drivers license"
08 "making the bed"
09 "maggots for brains"
10 "the cure"
11 "less"
12 "expectations"
13 "good 4 u"
14 "deja vu"
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