Billie Eilish @ The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium 5/29/2019

Three years ago a 14 year old girl by the name of Billie Eilish released a song called "Ocean Eyes" on SoundCloud and she hasn't slowed down since. After seeing her San Francisco debut performance when she opened for MCHL at Popscene in 2016, she's grown up and blown up before my eyes. 

Dripping in bling, she looks the part of a SoundCloud rapper AKA Mumble Rapper with her baggy, bright colored, high-end brand labeled clothes but her music is a far cry from that. Her sound is a kind of goth-indie pop. She is the walking epitope of "don't judge a book by it's cover." Her voice is that of a young Lana Del Rey, raspy yet ultra feminine and wispy at times with an unabashed vulnerability. Lyrics to the songs she sings are bold beyond her years. While they're fun and catchy there's also profound depth surging with a maturity that doesn't let you forget that her older brother, Finneas is her biggest collaborator.

Don't Smile at Me, her 1st EP which includes hits that put the spot light on her, "Ocean Eyes", "Bellyache" and "idontwanttobeyouanymore", "My Boy" and "Copy Cat" was released in August 2017. It was then re-released in September with the singles she collaborated with Vance Staples on "&burn" and a remix of "Watch". 

Last year, along with being on her own tour and working the festival circuit pretty hard, Billie announced that her debut album would be out early 2019.  When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? dropped on March 29th after the announcement of the When We Fall Asleep world tour in February. By that point Billie Eilish had made a name for herself and when her long awaited debut album finally dropped the 17 year old was, is, the hottest name in music. 

The first stop on her 23 stop North American tour was at The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco in May 29th. This show, just like all the others, sold out. 8,500 hyper adolescences and their parents lined the city streets, itching to get hours before doors were open. Once they were, it was a stampede of young girls, tweens and teens in Billie Eilish shirts, hoodies and beanies hurrying excitedly to the front of the stage. Those who didn’t rush to the stage waited in long lines to get merch which was not cheap. Months worth of allowance dished out for $75 hoodies and $25 beanies (pro tip, Billie Eilish merch  is cheaper on her website plus you get a digital copy of the album with every purchase).

Billie Eilish @ The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium 5/29/2019 

photo by Marc Fong 

Ticket holders continued to stream in during Denzel Curry's opening act. Singing all the words to his songs as they meandered around the venue, the whole place was alive with juvenile elation. The average age of attendees at the Wednesday night show was 10 year old to 17 year old girls, and their parents who were nice enough to not only buy them tickets but also to take them to a concert on a school night.
I could hardly believe my ears when the young headliner took the stage, the girl everyone including Green Day's Billy Joe Armstrong and family was there to see. The fact that she opened with her hottest song, one of the hottest songs of the Summer and quite possibly the hottest song of the year, "Bad Guy" was not as surprising as how loud the crowd sang along to it. I've heard screaming fans at Justin Timberlake, The Weeknd and Jonas Brothers where people hit decuples of  screaming bloody murder, but this was something else, a first for me. These fans sang like their lives depended on it. No matter where you stood, you could not hear Billie Eilish singing for at least the first three songs of her set.

Billie Eilish @ The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium 5/29/2019 

photo by Marc Fong

Billie Eilish @ The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium 5/29/2019 

photo by Marc Fong 

Not different than what we saw at her Coachella performances in April, the grandiose stage design with a slightly elevated platform, backed by huge, back lit LED screens was still minimalistic. With her two bandmates tucked in each corner, the rest of the stage was Billie's open range. 

She tirelessly paced back and forth and got some impressive air as she jumped around. She knows exactly how to work the crowd into a frenzy, she even dared to go into the crowd at one point. Her silly faces, slinky dance moves and lighthearted antics characterized the 80 minute long set which naturally flowed with high and low tempos. You could tell by the way she'd stop and take it all in with soft smiles, bashful chuckles and sweet shaking of her head in disbelief, Billie Eilish was just as euphoric to be there as all of her fans were. The energy in the room, whether on the cramped floor or up in the sweaty balcony, gave me goosebumps. 

Billie Eilish @ The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium 5/29/2019 

photo by Marc Fong  

Billie Eilish @ The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium 5/29/2019 

photo by Marc Fong 

As the end of the set neared, an iron framed bed descended from the sky, allowing the siblings to perform songs from it as floated high above the stage. It was a neat theatric as well as an appropriate one being that it is the When We Fall Asleep tour.  

With just a few more shows to go here in the States, Billie Eilish's fan base will only continue to grow as her world tour continues. When I reviewed her back in 2016, I'd said we'd see her grow as a performer and have we ever. If you only see one show this Summer, make it a point to see and experience Billie Eilish while she's on top. If she keeps things up and doesn't burn herself out, she might be there for a while.

Billie Eilish @ The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium 5/29/2019 

photo by Marc Fong 

Billie Eilish set-list 5/29/2019 
1. Bad Guy 
2. My Strange Addiction 
3. You Should See Me in a Crown
4. idontwannabeyouanymore
5. watch/&burn 
6. COPYCAT
7. When I Was Older
8. Wish You Were Gay 
9. Xanny 
10. All The Good Girls Go To Hell 
11. ilomilo 
12. Bellyache
13. Listen Before I Go 
14. I Love You 
15. Ocean Eyes 
16. When The Party's Over 
17. Bury A Friend