Considering Billie Eilish has played some of the biggest music gigs in recent years, her ability to perform and stay true to herself – and her fans – in one of London’s smallest venues to a tiny crowd is quite the achievement.
At just 21, the Gen Z pop titan has seven Grammy awards, an Oscar, two Guinness World Records, more than 40 million digital single sales, and a James Bond movie soundtrack under her belt – many of these achieved while still a teenager.
She headlined Glastonbury in 2022, and this weekend closed out Reading Festival with a rousing performance to 100,000 revellers, something she can do in her sleep.
Days later, Eilish performed at the minuscule yet iconic London gig venue, the Electric Ballroom in Camden, to around 1,500 lucky fans for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The surprise gig, the most intimate of intimate shows, was announced by Eilish on Saturday evening, three days before it took place, causing a mad scramble for her millions of fans to get their hands on one of the coveted gold dust-like tickets.
For those lucky few who were able to attend, including Metro.co.uk, the resulting gig was a pleasure to witness, a moment in musical history that showed just how this young American singer-songwriter has become the international pop juggernaut she is and will continue to be for decades to come. She truly defies her young age – she has a stunning amount of talent, style, and swagger for someone born this side of the millennium.
Latest London news
- As more train strike misery beckons for millions are Tubes and buses running this week?
- Uproar on first day of Ulez expansion as protest erupts outside Downing Street and Londoners shout ‘get Khan out!’
- London flat on sale for £230k comes with red mirrored dungeon room
To get the latest news from the capital visit Metro.co.uk’s visit Metro’s London news hub.
But she’s also an artist who is purely about her fans. Obviously, the art, the songwriting, and the performance are key to her success, but her fans are her main focus and are no doubt the reason she is the superstar she is.
Chatting candidly to the audience throughout, Eilish was unfazed when, halfway through her third song, she paused the show to stop a fan in distress, clearly not concerned about the pacing or buzz around the room potentially fizzling out.
Moments later, Eilish was forced to stop the gig again – she herself was experiencing an anxiety attack.
At 21, many of us were still figuring ourselves out, maybe too shy to speak up in challenging situations, but Eilish somehow managed to power through a panic attack while trusting the crowd enough to let them know what was going on.
Of course, her fans lapped up her honesty and loved her for sharing her minor plight, giving her back their all with screams of glee that were often blood-curdling to give her a boost. There could have been a murder in the audience and the screams wouldn’t have sounded out of place, such was the pure exhilaration and emotion in that small room.
It was Eilish’s show, but of course she had plenty of surprises in store in the way of special guests. London rapper Labrinth came out for a cover of Never Felt So Alone, and fans completely lost their minds, with even more bone-chilling screams echoing across the venue as she introduced indie supergroup Boygenius to the stage for a rendition of When The Party’s Over.
From bringing things back to the start with songs from her 2017 EP Don’t Smile At Me, to two massive confetti cannons exploding during Bad Guy, to an incredibly emotional finish with Happier Than Ever, this was a genuine masterclass performance in how it should be done.
There were plenty of beautiful moments in the Electric Ballroom on Tuesday night, not least seeing the effect the Lovely singer has on her young fans, who exited the venue looking utterly shell-shocked, hands clamped over their mouths, eyes streaming with tears, holding each other up as they basked in what they had just experienced. For many, it was their very first gig, the only problem being the bar has been set extremely high for the rest of their concert-going lives.
The 90-minute-long set was a proper give-and-take between performer and audience, with Eilish regularly checking in to make sure people were feeling alright at the front between songs, and personally handing bottles of water to those at the barricade. Always keeping her fans in her focus, it did not detract from her performance one bit.
And, even better for her emotional, hoarse-from-screaming admirers, Eilish’s setlist was one for die-hard fans.
She said as much, too, telling the crowd that if they were here with a friend who is a fan, or they’ve been dragged along with someone: ‘I hope you have a good time, but this isn’t for you. This is for them.’
Billie Eilish at Electric Ballroom – Highlights
The sheer joy of the audience and how they were determined to make Eilish feel the love
The fans sang along to every word, groups of friends jumped up and down like their lives depended on it, and in quiet moments between songs you could hear the most blood-curdling screams ring out through the intimate venue. As in, these people could have been getting murdered, and it would sound no different.
Eilish interacting with fans and keeping crowds safe
Eilish goes above and beyond what’s expected, or even necessary, from a performer. She stopped midway through the third song – just as everything was getting going – to ask if someone in the crowd was alright. She ordered everyone to take a step back, and requested water. Later, when that water didn’t show up, she screamingly demanded water and jokingly said she was now acting as the security at her own gig.
The star chatted casually with fans while on stage, treating them like equals – there was no ego on stage at the Ballroom.
Eilish talking to a room of 1500 people like they’re her friends
Standing on the small stage, with over a thousand people in front of her, she candidly admitted she was worried doing such a small show was a mistake. Partially because of the crush at the front of the crowd, and because she was genuinely feeling anxiety, telling the crowd she was ‘literally having an anxiety attack right now.’
It’s how you talk to your friends, people you trust, people you’re not afraid will judge you. And the crowd reacted by giving it their all and proving this show was far, far from a mistake.
Boygenius arriving on stage for a haunting rendition of When The Party’s Over
There is a major crossover between the two fanbases, and many seemed to know just what was happening when Eilish started talking about bringing her friends on stage – a girl standing at the back screamed so loudly half the crowd turned her direction, only to explode with excitement themselves when the three musicians appeared from side of stage.
The entire show being one firmly for the fans
Eilish knew anyone lucky enough to get tickets for this incredibly special show was not your run-of-the-mill fan, and she made sure this was reflected in her performance.
Fans were treated to an hour and a half of some of Eilish’s best-known – and some lesser-known – tracks, including a gorgeous acoustic medley of Lovely, Ilomilo combined with I Love You, a cover of Never Felt So Alone by Labrinth – with a special guest performance from the man himself, and even a tease of My Boy, from her 2017 EP Don’t Smile At Me.
The Confetti Drop
What a way to end a show – the entire venue thumping to the sounds of Bad Guy, fans clapping in time, the excitement peaking just as everything’s about to end, and two cannons exploding with confetti at either side of the venue.
If fans were in a tizzy before this, this was the moment that ended it all – bringing everyone to finish up together with finishing song Happier Than Ever.
An absolute masterclasss from start to finish, a blinder of a show; Billie Eilish made history in Electric Ballroom.
Source: Read Full Article
