Billie Love: A review of Billie Eilish’s performance at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Ne. during her Happier Than Ever tour

After her 2020 tour was rudely interrupted after only three shows, Billie Eilish went on to release several singles and an album entitled “Happier Than Ever” — a major contender for one of my favorite albums of all time. Though on the surface everything seemed to be changing — going from baggy clothes on the runway to a ballgown and a new take on her style of music — Billie’s concert definitely set the story straight. She is the same energetic, free-spirited person.

Seeing her in concert was everything I wanted (pun intended) since getting tickets to her original tour in 2020. My expectations of an emotional performance, fully-invested crowd and completely unique and authentic show were exceeded instantly.

As I walked towards the building I could feel the bass from the opening band, DUCKWRTH, rattle the sidewalk below my feet.

The tension from the siren-like instrumental intro playing built up the anticipation of seeing her — for a split second — standing high in the stage rafters and provided me with the mind-numbing combination of excitement and the best kind of anxiety I’ve ever experienced.

Nobody ever goes to a concert for an opening act, but I have to say, DUCKWRTH’s vibe made it the best opener I’ve ever seen. The energy was contagious — the combination of partly Spanish influenced rap and pop created a soft yet intense sound.

When Billie first took the stage, I was close to tears. The tension from the siren-like instrumental intro playing built up the anticipation of seeing her — for a split second — standing high in the stage rafters and provided me with the mind-numbing combination of excitement and the best kind of anxiety I’ve ever experienced. It went on for close to two minutes.

I was immediately blown away by the terrifying visuals of a demented creature and black and white flashes spewing from the stage as “bury a friend” blared and the cheers morphed into thousands of voices singing in perfect unison.

The eye-catching, meaningful visuals carried on throughout the show and are seen especially in “all the good girls go to hell.” The song itself calls out humankind for mistreating the planet, and that was reflected perfectly through the videos of the effects of climate change taking up the whole stage.

I loved that she wanted an intimate connection with her fans, and for everyone to be truly present in the moment to let go. Billie was fully transparent throughout the concert, her true self showing in ways I had never seen in any other artist. She seemed like a real person, not just an artist I’m a fan of — “Getting Older” displayed vulnerability as home videos and snapshots of Billie’s childhood flash across the screens, most of them never seen previously. During “when the party’s over,” she requested that everyone put their phones down for the song and be in the moment with her — she wanted to “see all of us.”

The true connection she has with her fans, or as she refers to them in several interviews, “friends,” is clear as daylight — especially in her performance of “Overheated.” The secondary stage used a crane to raise her above the crowd, and while she sang, she looked down at us with what appeared as love and devotion.

And it’s not all show either — she took several breaks throughout the show to check on the crowd members and made sure that security was giving water bottles to those who needed one. None of this being is new to her philosophy of performance. 

The message of her concert could be perfectly summed up by the conclusion of the show, the iconic “Happier Than Ever” guitar opening rang in the ears of the crowd only to be deafened by the voices. The crowd’s emotion while singing along to this song was unmatched by any other concert crowd I’ve been in — a definite ode to Billie’s ability to cater to her audience.  As the song reached its climactic transition into the rock-inspired second half, the room erupted with the iconic line, “just f***ing leave me alone.”

We were all there to just have fun and let go. And I couldn’t imagine the concert going any other way.