Live music is back on the menu.

There were a handful of shows that I had hoped to see in 2020, but this crazy thing happened and many of those shows got cancelled or postponed. At the time of writing this, I have two more postponed shows left to attend, both of which will (hopefully) take place later this year. In anticipation of both shows, I’ve been faced with the reality that artists are announcing new music and tours left and right. There’s not as much of a waiting game these days as COVID cases remain low. I realized recently that I’m not limited to my Spotify daily playlists or virtual online concerts to enjoy my favorite artists.

I nearly forgot that music, when not interrupted by a global pandemic, is an art best enjoyed live.

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Back when I lived out East, I spent many weekends making the 2.5 hour drive each way from Syracuse to Buffalo to hang with friends. My car at the time was old enough to drink- ergo, no Bluetooth connection to blast playlists from my phone. The one radio station I liked listening to in Buffalo was this alternative station that played a lot of up-and-coming artists. While I would have much rather preferred listening to artists I already knew and liked, it was better than listening to nothing.

One night, as I was trying to merge over two lanes on I-90 to get to my exit, the intro to a song completely threw me off guard. It didn’t have that distinct pop cheerfulness or any sort of raging rock anthem power chords. It felt… haunting. Just a singer over a simple beat, harmonizing with a monotone voice. Something felt eerie about it. I couldn’t place my finger on it, and I was intrigued. I turned up the volume.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6rOiaThksY

Months after I first heard “bury a friend” on that Buffalo radio station, “bad guy” was making the rounds on Top 40 stations across the country. The demand to copy Billie Eilish’s signature electric lime haircut led to a brief shortage of lime hair dye at my local beauty supply store (yes, I checked). The song itself was getting covered left and right. Parents weren’t quite sure about Billie. One parent told me that she wasn’t convinced that Billie was a good role model for her kids.

Sure, celebrities don’t exactly have the best reputations when it comes to inspiring the next generations. In my experience, people tend to highlight their worst moments as “teaching moments” for their kids so that they don’t make an embarrassment out of themselves. But what’s the alternative? I suppose you could point your kid in the direction of whatever role model inspired you as a kid. They may not be the most relatable, or your kid just may be adamant about wanting to model their life off of someone you’ve never heard of. You may want to quash those ideas completely, just to lead your kids down the same path of morals and values that you were taught.

Alas, the world moves forward. Things may not work out in your favor. There’s a thrill in the new and now that kids of any generation can’t seem to get enough of. So when the opportunity came up to see Billie live, I decided to make my own judgement calls about how I felt about her as a performer- and as a person.

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Walking around Seattle on Saturday, my friend and I were asked by several store owners if we were in town to see Billie. One lamented that her store had gotten swamped with boisterous customers the night before- we had to reassure her that we were not among those fans. But neither of us were entirely sure of what kind of crowd we were in for.

As I expected, there were a lot of teens. Mostly high school kids, a good smattering of college freshmen, and a handful of middle schoolers and their parents. Billie’s music was initially released when these kids were in their formative years, so to them, this was the peak of their adolescent concert years. I saw some of these people openly weep after the show. A lot of unrestrained “I LOVE YOU BILLIE’s” were yelled out during the quiet parts. Some of the electric lime merch, from hoodies to hats, glowed in the darkness of Climate Pledge Arena.

Ironically, the show opened with “bury a friend,” which has now become my favorite Billie Eilish jam. As soon as she jumped out of the stage’s trapdoor and began jumping around the catwalk with a seemingly infinite amount of energy, I knew we were in for a treat. Even during the slower ballads and melancholic rhapsodies, she never lost focus or broke character. The crowd loved every moment. Kids camped out near the catwalk threw pride flags and bouquets of flowers at her, which she occasionally picked up and used as props. A handful of folks around the arena brought signs. Clear across the arena, up in the nosebleeds, I saw three people decked head to toe in neon lights having the times of their lives.

I’m surprised I didn’t leave the venue with accelerated tinnitus.

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The best part about Billie Eilish wasn’t even her set. I was astounded by the way she was able to connect with her audience- from the scores of teens having life-changing experiences at this show, to their exhausted but intrigued parents who got them the tickets, to everyone else in between. In the few moments when she spoke to the crowd, she made her words count. At the beginning, she announced that there were two rules for her show: “don’t be an a**hole, and have fun.” She had a firm command on the audience, at times prompting everyone to take a seat and a deep breath before starting up some slower numbers. Or, she’d request the opposite, and the crowd went wild.

It didn’t feel like I was watching a super-rock-star show off the same act for the umpteenth time. This was one person, on a massive stage, backed up by a drummer and a synth/keyboard. At one point, Billie declared that everyone was an equal inside of the arena, from the sound crew to the folks in the nosebleeds. Everyone was allowed to be whoever they wanted to be within her space.

I don’t know about you, but the role models I had at a formative age were often those who had similar expectations for their audience. I wanted nothing more than to be myself in a judgement free zone. Watching an artist change the lives of thousands of kids in the span of two hours is a memory I hope I’ll never forget.

And to answer an earlier question: the kids are all right these days. They’ve got one hell of a role model in Billie Eilish.