Project Description

BILLIE EILISH

@ The Lansdowne Hotel

14/09/17 (Live Review)

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Billie Eilish

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Sydney’s Lansdowne Hotel is usually dimly lit, musky and accessorised with vintage items. Thursday Night, the pub turned into a teenage wasteland as denim clad, technicoloured young adults lined up to see the debut Australian show of American pop sensation Billie Eilish.

Eilish, a 15-year-old alternative pop singer from Highland Park, California, has swept the pop world by storm. She’s garnished over 90 million Spotify streams since her debut in November last year, recording a song for the controversial TV show Thirteen Reasons Why and being praised as the future of pop by NYLON, VOGUE, ELLE and Billboard. To celebrate the release of her debut EP don’t smile at me, Eilish brings her Neo-noir image to Australian stages for the first time. These intimate shows serve as just t

he beginning of Eilish’s reign of Australian fans, and her fans, myself included, definitely weren’t prepared for what the night had in store.

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Billie Eilish

 

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To set the tone of the show, FlexMami kicked off the night with a DJ set filled with sensual dark pop and R&B tunes. The radio/TV presenter played a variety of songs, including the likes of Beyoncé, Lorde and Rihanna, as the crowd began the fill up the room and drinks began to be served. FlexMami’s set was smoothly articulated, however her lack of presence in the room, perhaps due to being set up to the side of the stage, took away the potential hype she could have bought to the incoming audience.

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Soon after, Alice Ivy took to the stage with her hypnotising presence and soulful instrumentation. Starting with her debut single ‘Touch’, the hype surrounding Alice Ivy, most recently her BIGSOUND performances and recently signed record deal with Dew Process, is definitely shown through her energetic live show. Her instrumentation on stage varies between electric guitar, an electronic drum pad, Ableton Push and occasionally, her breathy vocals, but Alice makes everything look effortless and doesn’t need words to engage with the crowd. Her biggest single to date, “Get Me A Drink” is definitely a highlight of the night, bringing out Sydneysider E^ST which encouraged everyone to lose their inhibitions and dance along.

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Billie Eilish

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All eyes were on Billie Eilish the minute she walked out on stage with her brother, Finneas O’Connell. Wearing draped monochromatic clothes, she kicked off her 13-song set with her EP openers ‘COPYCAT’ and ‘idon’twannabeyouanymore’. Eilish proves to be a force to be reckoned with on stage, her movements compliment her sultry dark-pop sounds and leave her fans mimicking every single word she sings. She pulls out all strings to impress the crowd, even bringing out a ukulele mid-set to cover Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’ and a piano to play a brand new song, ‘l i s t e n’, which turns the crowd to a silent standstill.

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Billie Eilish

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The sibling bond Eilish and her brother have is ultimately shown through every song. She commented on the love for her brother midst, even dragging him centre stage to sing his latest single ‘I’M IN LOVE WITHOUT YOU’. The songs ‘Hostage’ saw O’Connell shadowing Eilish in a hauntingly manner, sending chills down everyone’s spine.

Before long, Eilish and her brother come out for one final song, her hit song “Bellyache”, which saw the crowd interact with Billie, becoming a wave of jumping people. Eilish mentioned her love for Australia, preaching that she “would love to live here”.

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Billie Eilish

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Billie Eilish’s impending fame is an untamed force to be reckoned with. Despite only being 15 years old, she’s already established an overage audience, with some of that audience left on their knees begging for more after her debut performance at The Lansdowne. She’s comes back to Australia in January next year for Laneway Festival 2018, and it’s safe to say, fans are already eagerly awaiting her next arrival. I know I definitely am.

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     BILLIE EILISH

     SETLIST

   COPYCAT

   idon’twannabeyouanymore

   watch

   Six Feet Under

   Hotline Bling

   party favor

   I’m In Love Without You (by Finneas O’Connell)

   bored

   l i s t e n  (New Song)

   my boy

   hostage

   ocean eyes

   —

   bellyache

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AMNPLIFY – DB

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