The scream factor’s question is answered a few seconds later: Billie Eilish hasn’t even entered the stage, just some light effects flickering across the hall and the audience reaches infernal decibel levels. So nothing has changed since the Los Angeles singer – as a teenager – made her first major tour of Europe three or four years ago.
She’s now 20, and she’s collected a bag full of Grammys and an Oscar, too. More than 100 million people follow her on Instagram, 45 million on YouTube. About 17,000 of them sold their Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin in a very short time and are now crying out in their hearts. Aside from Billie Eilish, it’s possible that this kind of Beatles-mania-esque euphoria is the only K-pop BTS buzz right now.
Billie Eilish bounces across the stage like a rubber ball
And so the singer, showing on stage a strong leap from a depression on the floor, leaves large parts of the singing of the first songs to the audience – one can hardly understand it anyway. The start was overwhelming, headlights flashing in full force, Billie Eilish bouncing in her black and white outfit like a rubber ball, bass making concrete shiver. With “NDA,” the small, up-and-down keyboard hues under the rushing beats lead to more cries of joy from mostly female fans.
You were looking for an idol, especially at the beginning of his career, he was always a little different from many of the famous pop stars of the 21st century. Baggy clothes, brightly colored hair, not necessarily with a smile on their face, but brief texts about teenage fear, self-empowerment, and love sickness, which older adults can relate to as well.
However, Billie Eilish’s many speeches are clearly aimed at the young majority in the hall, in which she repeatedly asks about the state of the crowd – and even security brings water to the front lines towards the end.
The singer clearly enjoys motivating fans with new scream and jump shows. Also nice was the La Ola mobile light I started, which scurries across the plaza like a swarm of fireflies. DIY lighting effect in the middle of a high-tech show – that’s how you create closeness. In order to exhaust all possibilities of the impressive setup again in the next moment. You can say whatever you want about the multi-purpose hall on the Ostbahnhof, but it’s perfect for a scene like this.
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At the back of the stage, in front of a huge viewing deck, are two square platforms that can be moved up and down, with the drummer on the right and Billie Eilish’s brother Fiennes on the left. In between is an inclined surface leading to the triangular front stage, through which the narrow platform leads inward.
Billie Eilish constantly navigates this vast space, happily flaunting her knee-high jumps in place. She might have been jumping more aggressively, but the black tape on her cane – which had been bothering her for a long time – indicated that her body did not allow for more brutality.
The singer rotates on a lift platform
The show, which takes about 100 minutes to stop, slows down significantly in the middle as Billie Eilish and Phineas take center stage with their acoustic guitars. It’s the only time her brother, who is five years older than her and with whom she writes all her songs, who he also produces, says anything. It will be nothing more than a “Hello!”
In return, Billy explained that they would now be playing one of their favorite songs. Especially now, in light of the devastating decision of the Supreme Court, the piece means a lot to her. Starting to beat the beat of “Your Strength”, Phineas introduces the singing tone that her vocals follow. “Try not to abuse your power” is the center line, which indicates a case of abuse, just like the following sentence “will you feel bad only when they find out.”
MeToo’s reality will only increase rather than decrease after the abortion ban, which Eilish explicitly mentions again in the next new song “TV”. It’s the most thought-provoking moment of a positively active concert. For some songs, the singer allows herself to spin on a lift platform at the back of the hall, a touch of Neukölln May Day appears, only the announcer praising the flight is missing.
Old and new parts work well
Billie Eilish and her little band perform a well-balanced mix of songs from her hit album “When We Fall Asleep, Where We Go” and from last summer’s release “Happier Than Ever”. Old and modern tunes are received with equal enthusiasm by the audience – in fact, they all work well.
A highlight is “You Should See Me In A Crown,” which gives a massive stomach rumble, accompanied by an XXL-sized spider appearing on screen – a tribute from the video. “Oxytocin” with a timbaland-like jumping rhythm and later “Missing Reason” with the shortened bass line, introduced briefly by Phineas on the podium at the end of the piece, also fits in perfectly with the party.
Billie Eilish rescues himself from the ritual of leaving the stage and then playing the apparition. She prefers to give a short farewell speech, in which she once again affirms her love for the audience, and then lets her hit “Bad Guy” off the leash. The drizzling downpour and epic “happiest ever” ends a wonderful evening, some adults must have cried a little inside.
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