Impossibly pretty, slyly sexual and with a mesmerising forcefield strong enough to pull the entire world close to her – Billie Eilish is uncategorisable.
She is her own genre. Her fandom is devoted, unapologetically so, and it was demonstrated throughout this concert at Brisbane Entertainment Centre (17 September). Everyone feels like she could be their best friend.Her songs make you feel seen. Her lyrics make you feel less alone. Her socials make you feel less crazy.
She is like a magic mirror to each of us, reflecting back what we most desperately want to see. And perhaps that is why she chose a simple stage set up. Her show felt like an intimate gig. . . except with 13,500 devoted fans surrounding her on all sides.
Taking minimal to a new level, her stage included her band (Finneas and Andrew Marshall on drums), a slowly rising ramp in the centre, a huge video screen and various lighting rigs.
Not a back-up dancer to be found, not a choreographed move to be seen and not an outfit change to be rushed through. No props. No fluff. Only the good stuff – her voice, those ear-worm guitar riffs and a bevy of banging beats.
Simple. Unhurried. Unfiltered. Billie let the music be the star of the show.
Stepping out onto the stage in a matching tee plus bike shorts set, which was covered in cool graphic designs, she had serious-looking shin support splint strips showing above high top white sneakers. Her black hair was up in two buns with her trademark fringe.
She was chatty, easily likeable, and sweet. She almost didn't seem real. Her beauty borders on unbelievable. Her voice defies description. Her energy feels otherworldly.
And the crowd understood this. With resounding screams which reverberated through the stadium every time she stopped close to a section, or leant down, or waved was reminiscent of the histrionic, crazed adoration bestowed upon The Beatles, or Elvis or Justin Bieber (but with less fainting).
She opened with 'Bury A Friend', jumping around the stage, lit up with dark crimson lighting, then straight into 'I Didn't Change My Number' then 'NDA'. Her songs felt so much more vast in this live format – the arrangements swelled the sounds around, in and through you. It was like having a total sensory experience simply by standing and listening.
Flipping between 'Happier Than Ever', 'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?' and 'Don't Smile At Me', Billie merged her new songs with her older style flawlessly.
She stopped at one point and had a long chat to the crowd, her voice sounding so young and hopeful, talking about being kind and inclusive and non-judgemental. Her energy was much lighter than previous shows, and she was playful with the crowd, flirting and reading signs.
Long-time fans would have been relieved to realise that none of her hit songs was excluded, and she brought back 'Lovely', 'idontwannabeyouanymore', 'Bellyache' and 'Ocean Eyes' to huge cheers.
At one point she disappeared under the stage and reappeared at the back of the venue and climbed onto a crane to float above the audience, and as the show took a slower turn, everyone turned their lights on and waved their phones to create a sea of twinkling lights.
Bringing a stripped-back vibe to 'Your Power', Billie and Finneas sat on stools, bathed in a circle of light and played guitar together. She also sat solo at the front of the stage to perform 'When The Party's Over'.
Winding it all up with a rousing, rambunctious rendition of 'Bad Guy' and finally serenading us with 'Happier Than Ever' as a cascade of confetti rained down. A gloriously joyous way to close out the show, with a huge swell of sound as the song built to its crescendo.
Her voice rolled straight through to your heart and down to your toes. The crowd swayed and everywhere you looked there were huge smiles, loud singing and people waving their phones in time with the beat.
Billie Eilish is an enigma, an ingenue with a world-weary wisdom who has managed to capture magic and sings it back to you. There is something about hearing her that is impossible to describe but it feels like coming home, like finding yourself, like a communion of your soul. But with a twist.
It truly feels like by hearing her, YOU become art in motion. That talent, with that voice, with that imagination might be the closest thing you will ever get to drinking a glass of the wild, unfiltered human spirit.
She walks between the worlds, bringing light to the darkness while celebrating all the shades in between.
