The streets of Pittsburg were packed with fans crowding and flocking the PPG Paints Arena on Sunday, Oct. 13. Once the doors opened to the masses, the seats began to fill and almost the entire arena was packed with fans wearing oversized jerseys, bandanas and long jean shorts, waiting to get their chance to watch Billie Eilish perform live. Fans spanned from children to grandparents as we rushed through the metal detectors to get to our seats. 

Eilish had one opener for her concert, Nat and Alex Wolff, brothers and co-singers for their band. They had great crowd engagement for their entire set, and most in the crowd were excited to see a familiar face in one of the brothers, Alex: Spencer from the 2017 revival of “Jumanji.” They finished their set with a song that was produced by Eilish called “Soft Kissing Hour.” Their set was full of music that I had never heard before, and frankly, I did not know that their band even existed. However, I left that concert wanting to add their songs to my playlist. 

After the Wolff’s opening set, we waited for about 30 minutes while the stage was rearranged for Eilish to perform. While we waited, Eilish had a video playing on the screens promoting her mother’s business, Support + Feed. Fighting alongside Eilish and her brother Finneas, their mother Maggie Baird addresses sustainability in the music industry. It was a nice way to pass the time and hear about something that Eilish is passionate about while learning how we could all take part in their mission. 

The stage was large and had two pits on each side where the instrumentalists performed, giving Eilish the whole stage to herself. When the lights went down, an instrumental version of her hit “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 within. Once the cage began to descend, the crowd went wild with the knowledge that she was in there, descending to the stage and on the verge of beginning the show. 

Eilish then began the show with “CHIHIRO,” a song off of her newest album “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT.” After singing this, Eilish took a moment to interact with the crowd and to acknowledge her openers. She told everyone that Nat and Alex are really good friends of hers and it has been a blast to be on tour with them and “force them to hang out” with her.

Projectors were utilized on the floor of the stage for each song to add colors and visuals alongside the screens up above to add an extra element to her performance. During her performance of “ocean eyes,” the floor was projected with water splashing up onto the screens on the cage to create the effect of waves crashing. During “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” the stage was a field of flowers, reflecting the music video playing above. 

Eilish played crowd favorites the entirety of her two-and-a-half-hour set, including songs off every album such as “NDA,” “ilomilo,” “TV” and “bury a friend.” Each of her songs got as much screaming from the crowd as the one that was played before. The energy in that arena was over the top, and I had never been to a concert that was so loud and supportive before this. I have been to numerous concerts in my life spanning across different genres, and I can say confidently that Eilish has had the greatest crowd interaction and performance out of all of them.

After her performance of “WILDFLOWER,” the lights and flash went away as Eilish sat in the middle of the stage under a spotlight. She asked that the entire crowd be silent as she layered her vocals live for her performance of “when the party’s over.” It was incredible to witness her sheer raw talent while she sang into the mic and layered her own voice in complete and utter silence. 

In the middle of her set, Eilish took a short break to introduce two of her longest standing friends to sing with her on the song “TV.” While it would have been a crowd favorite under any circumstances, singing it with her friends was something that the crowd was incredibly supportive of.

After ending her show with her performance of “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” she took a moment to speak to us before leaving the stage. She told us that she never wants us to feel like she is not there, that even if she cannot physically be with us, she is there beside us. Before leaving the stage, she ended her speech by saying, “I’ll always be there to fight for you and to support you in everything that you are.” 

For those out there who believe that Eilish cannot sing, that she just “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 solidified her role as one of the greatest artists of this generation. 

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