Filtering by Tag: Billie Eilish

Live Recap: Nat and Alex Wolff with Billie Eilish at The United Center

November 14, 2024 / Josh Darr

The actor/musician brother duo of Nat and Alex Wolff, FKA The Naked Brothers Band, derived their music from a Nickelodeon show that the brothers starred in earlier in their lives.

The pair are currently on tour with Billie Eilish for her Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour for a string of dates including the two-night stand in Chicago. Coming from a different generation, I wasn’t too entirely familiar with their music, but was equally excited to see what the Brothers Wolff had to offer knowing that artists put in the effort to choose their openers— I figured Billie had her reasons. I’m grateful for the phrase “ a picture is worth a thousand words” because I feel like my photos captured tens of thousands of words encapsulating the amount of entertainment to duo emitted in just the short time allotted for an opening act.

The United Center is definitely no small feat to conquer as an opener and I’ve seen many solid openers in the past not make the mark or hold the crowd’s attention, and that wasn’t the case for last night’s performance. That had a commanding presence and easily connected with the crowd, who let’s face It we know had only Billie on their minds. Some of the fans had even been camping out since Sunday and others were still in their tents on a cold rainy Chicago night for their line spot in the morning for tonight’s show. Nonetheless, both Nat and Alex held nothing back and showcased how they’re not only brothers or actors, but also rockstars.

Check out the full gallery of their performance below, and see where you can catch them on tour next here.

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categories / Photos, Reviews, Gigs
tags / Nat and Alex Wolff, Billie Eilish, Live Recap, Photo Gallery, Photo recap, Photo Set, United Center

Live Recap: Billie Eilish Brought Her Sold Out Headline Tour to Metro Chicago 10.28.18

October 31, 2018 / Rachel Zyzda

Just about a year ago, I first caught Billie Eilish at her sold out Chicago debut at Schubas Tavern. While the Schubas show was still packed to the brim with devoted fans, after catching Eilish again at The Metro this past Sunday night, it became clear that her debut was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to a Billie Eilish show. This time around, Eilish was not only equipped with more experience, but she brought along a bigger live band and a spider-shaped production rig that filled the entire stage.

Eilish began the set hidden behind a part of the stage as her band members took their places, and after building suspense, the singer jumped out to start singing “my boy” from the 2017 EP dont smile at me. Immediately the young crowd loudly sang along with the repetitive and catchy chorus, sticking their phones in the air to document the start of the show. As the night went on, the pace of the music sometimes shifted, but the enthusiasm of the audience and the momentum of the show never waned; fans sang and danced along no matter what song Eilish was performing. Whatever energy the crowd gave Eilish, she continuously fed back to them, and she never stopped expressing her genuine gratitude. Eilish also made it clear she cared for the crowd’s well-being, and early on in the night paused her set to make sure everyone felt okay had plenty of water.

For the majority of Eilish’s set, the mood remained upbeat, most of her hook-laden pop anthems allowing for the crowd to dance along with her and the booming bass. Songs like “Party Favor” and a short cover of “Hotline Bling” that Eilish performed armed with a ukulele highlighted her versatile sound by stripping back some of the heavier production featured on some of her other material. Towards the end of the set, the singer slowed things down and staked out a spot on a stool that was stationed center stage, where she sang her latest single “when the party’s over;” a falsetto driven piano ballad.

The first chapter of the show closed out with another popular song from Eilish’s debut: “bellyache.” The singer briefly left the stage after that song, but didn’t make the overzealous crowd wait long for an encore, as they quickly filled the room with overwhelming shouts for more songs. The crowd of about a thousand that packed The Metro on Sunday mimicked that of a room of 10,000 with their deafening noise levels.

In just one year’s time, Eilish was able to sell out a room five times the size of her debut show, beef up her setlist with a handful of new singles, and deliver a show accompanied by full stage production, so there’s no telling where she’ll be at the next time she performs in Chicago. Catch Billie in a city near you (dates here) and check out photos from Sunday’s performance below.

Keep up with Billie Eilish on Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

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categories / Photos, Gigs, Reviews
tags / Billie Eilish, Metro Chicago, Photo Gallery, Live Recap, Gig Review

LIVE: Billie Eilish Makes Her Chicago Debut at Schubas Tavern

October 14, 2017 / Rachel Zyzda

This past Thursday night, some lucky music fans piled into Schubas Tavern in Lakeview to witness the rising pop singer Billie Eilish make her Chicago debut. With the flood of emerging artists popping up on Soundcloud and other social media platforms nowadays, it can be difficult for listeners to weave through it all to find their new favorite artists. In some cases, though, just the right amount of luck mixes with a new talent that deserves to be heard, and a song will spread like wildfire. As is the case with Billie Eilish and her viral track "Ocean Eyes," which was only officially released by Interscope Records in November 2016. The track showcases Eilish's witty writing skills and her dreamy, yet sweeping vocal abilities. With a flawlessly strong falsetto and metaphorical writing style, Eilish's music emulates the style of alternative pop legends Lorde and Lana Del Rey. In the short time following her debut single release, Eilish has put out the 8 song dont smile at me EP, which was drip fed to her listeners each week leading up to the official release date of August 11, 2017.

Cut to Thursday night, Eilish stopped in Chicago on her first ever cross country sold out tour to perform songs from her EP, with a few surprises mixed in. Fans who had patiently been waiting all day for Eilish lost their minds right away, screaming as she ran onstage and reciting the words of the opening song "COPYCAT" along with their new favorite singer. Although Eilish is only 15 years old (let that sink in) and this was her first show in Chicago, she possessed a fierce sense of confidence and comfort for being onstage that many seasoned musicians don't even have yet. Throughout the set, Eilish and her brother made up the entire band. While her brother mostly stuck to guitar and running any backing tracks, Eilish often moved around the stage showing off her insane vocal ability, but she also picked up a ukulele for a couple of songs and performed a solo song on the piano. While she had her ukulele out, Eilish had teased her track "party favor" with a cover of Drakes "Hotline Bling," which flowed seamlessly into the latter. Her piano performance of an unreleased song called "Listen" left the crowd completely hushed in awe of her songwriting and singing abilities. At one point in the set, Eilish mentioned she had completely lost her voice the previous day, which made her stellar performance even that much more impressive. Another set highlight included Eilish giving her brother a chance to take the spotlight, with him hopping up to center stage to sing a song on his own while playing the guitar.

The short but sweet set that lasted just under an hour still managed to ebb and flow, each song having its own sonic groove and standing out from the rest. Eilish wrapped up her set with "bellyache," which builds up with an explosive chorus and blends electronic tones with an addictive guitar melody and Eilish's ethereal vocals. With such a magnetic stage presence and her ability to write captivating and thoughtful pop music, it will only be a matter of time before Billie Eilish is selling out arenas.

If you weren't able to witness history in the making in person, check out our gallery of her performance below.