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BILLIE EILISH
HAPPIER THAN EVER,
THE WORLD TOUR
@RAC Arena, Perth
30th September 2022
(Live Review)

Review by Melanie Griffiths

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‘It’s not just because of her powerful vocals or those mesmerising blue eyes – it’s her ability to encapsulate just about every emotion, from the wistfulness of “ocean eyes” to the bravado of “you should see me in a crown” and “bad guy”. The catchy, TikTok-viral “Therefore I Am” has the entire arena screaming the lyrics with her. She doesn’t just sing, she inhabits every word.’– NZ Herald

‘Eilish brings unbridled energy to every song … This is what makes [her] a true rock star’ – stuff.co.nz

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Someone hurt Perth given the deafening singing that occurred as Billie Eilish finished out the first night of her sold-out concert in Perth with the thunderous “Happier Than Ever”. The 15,000 strong crowd sang so fiercely that RAC Arena’s roof was in danger of popping off. It was a night of solidarity with the world’s most intriguing popstar. Showing that at the tender age of 20 we were witnessing a living legend in the making.

Support Sampa The Great who had studied and lived for a time in Australia before returning to her country of birth Zambia was in impressive form. The talented singer used every moment of her half-hour set to show her power. Buffeted by her band and 2 dancers, songs like “Final Form” rumbled with smooth RNB, afro beats and driving hip hop. It’s no wonder the crowd became putty in her hands waving lit phones and bouncing their hands.

Much was made by the Perth media about the fans who camped out for the concert, portraying it as fanaticism but it was more an example of the mad love her fans have for the singer. It also seemed a touch unnecessary given that if you had rocked up at 7.30pm you could’ve easily scored a prime position very close to barricade.

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Sampa The Great

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Sampa The Great

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By the time Billie popped out from under the stage before stalking towards the front to begin opener “Bury a Friend” the arena was heaving with a wide range of people but mostly bright-eyed Gen Z women. And rather than sell $40 socks at the merch stands, Billie’s team would’ve made a packet in selling tour earplugs because the screaming started from the first beat and didn’t let up during the 90-minute show.

Billie exudes a cool goth art girl who appears intimidating but is actually incredibly sweet. Her music is a swirl of the weird and subversive pulsing with a disconcerting edge of danger all wrapped up in a pop melody. It connects so strongly to women because Billie reflects the aggrieved inner dialogue of many young women who are told to be nice and smile to get ahead in this world. So songs like “I Didn’t Change My Number” and “NDA” with its line “I can barely go outside, I think I hate it here. Maybe I should think about a new career” simmer with indignation as fans screamed the lyrics.

A surly rendition of the apathetic “Therefore I Am” kicked the concert into the stratosphere when the line “Stop, what the hell are you talking about?” roared out like a threat. Billie seemed pleased skipping down the runway whilst sing-talking with fans she stopped to crouch down to. Being around the same age as many of her fans has created a parasocial dynamic which Billie appears to thrive from. A dark version of “You Should See Me In A Crown” had everyone on their feet bouncing, but only after her insistence, “those seated… that’s not gonna do”.

After a punchy outing of “My Strange Addiction” Billie moved into an emotional second half that showed off her intoxicating voice. “Idontwannabeyouanymore” could crack the coldest heart and followed by “Lovely” her duet with Khalid, the pig-tailed artist sings about teenage angst with such fragile beauty. For “Goldwing” Billie cut a lonely silhouetted figure on stage before taking a seat to play a few songs with her brother and creative partner Finneas.

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Her ability to play with music, to flip it on its head makes her unique in a world of cookie-cutter pop songs. So in as much, as she can be surly in ‘Overheated’ and ‘All The Good Girls Go To Hell’, in her quieter moments it’s impossible to look away. As she and her brother played an acoustic set of ‘I Love You’ and the beguiling ‘Your Power’ that reminded you more of a folk ingenue with its ennui than a bonafide pop star, it’s like Billie is creating her own sub-genre.

Ratcheting up the energy also was a stage production that would’ve made their accountant’s eyes bug out. Aside from the usual metres high screen, Billie also danced on a LED screen stage. Finneas and their drummer took position on opposite ends of the stage on risers that would ascend revealing wrap-around screens. Graphics played in saturated high definition as the lightning rigs drenched the arena in colour giving the venue the appearance of a blood-red sky. Then later Billie got into a cage boomlift that rose and circulated around to delighted nosebleed fans during ‘Bellyache’ and ‘Ocean Eyes’.

At several points, Billie would mention her connection to her fans being reciprocated and as the wind down began with ‘Everything I Wanted’ the singer became emotional recognising that the tour was almost over. However, the mayhem reached a crescendo with the earsplitting ‘Bad Guy’ and anthem “Happier Than Ever” which was an emotional watershed as fans screamed, “I don’t relate to you”. It’s Billie and her fans against the world, and even as the lights went up the singer walked along the barricade hugging fans, many of them with tears brimming in their eyes.

You don’t see it very often but when you do you know you’ll never forget it. That you’ve just witnessed a superstar.

5 stars

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Finneas

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Follow BILLIE EILISH
Website – Instagram – Facebook – Tik Tok

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Press Release September 2022 (below) HERE

BILLIE EILISH
HAPPIER THAN EVER,
THE WORLD TOUR

Final Tickets On Sale NOW

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AMNPLIFY – DB