Billie Eilish finally landed in California in San Jose Tuesday night, to perform in support of her latest album ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ and exceeded expectations. By now, many of her fans have seen various videos from other cities online and social media, but based on the in-person reactions, they were truly enthralled by the experience. Lights, lasers an elevated platform and a huge rectangular stage that allowed her to be in front of fans throughout the venue, made for a stimulating and yet intimate experience.
With three albums under her belt, Eilish put together a setlist that balanced both of the new and older songs from her catalog expertly. As Eilish emerged from a see-through LED cube in the center of the stage, fans jumped out of their seats and started dancing and singing along loudly to “CHIHIRO”. Dressed in a backwards ‘A’s’ baseball cap, a nod to the now-departed Oakland A’s baseball team, Eilish kept the energy going with “LUNCH”, from the new album as alternating colored lights emitted throughout the arena. The singalongs didn’t stop during the ballads or mid-tempo numbers like “Therefore I Am” or “WILDFLOWER”. Eilish took a moment to note the live aspect to her singing and requested silence from the audience as she performed live, looped vocals for the track “when the parties over “. It was an impressive feat for someone who’s been on tour for nearly 3 months, and in today’s musical climate that involves backing tracks in many live performances. Her vocals were strong in songs like “THE GREATEST” and “L’AMOUR DE MA VIE”, the latter which was incredible to see transition from sparse instrumentation and vocals to a full-on dance party. Up until this tour, Eilish’s brother Finneas had been a fixture as part of the band and integral part of her live performances since the very start. The backing band were more than satisfactory as their talents were on full display, especially when Eilish brought out the backing vocalists to perform “SKINNY”.
Ending with the Grammy-nominated and our top song of the year, “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” Eilish was just as energetic, engaging and vocally strong as she was at the start of the show. It was the perfect song to end with as the sense of community amongst her fans that she’s built was on display, as many were singing to each other the lyrics “I’ll love you ’til the day that I die”. Confetti launched as the song ended and continued to fly around as Eilish took her final bows, waving to the crowd and fans yelled just as loud as they had all night in appreciation. The show was an incredible display of an artist who’s evolved into a polished performer, who knows when to hit her fans hard and soft.
