Catapulting to an A-list celebrity after her hit song “driver’s license,” Olivia Rodrigo’s fame only grew with the successful release of her first album, “SOUR.” The following years most likely weighed on Rodrigo, as she was expected to make another album with similar results. Leaning into a rock influence, Rodrigo released her second album, “GUTS,” to widespread approval.
The rising 26-year-old pop star Chappell Roan opened for Rodrigo. With an energetic stage presence akin to Stevie Nicks, Roan was clearly enjoying her set. During her performance, she announced that Boston was the final city that she would be opening for on the tour, possibly motivating her to perform with even more intensity. For her hit song “HOT TO GO!,” Roan taught the audience a dance for part of the song’s chorus. Introducing the dance as, “like the YMCA dance,” the audience quickly picked up on it, moving their arms to spell out the words “hot to go.” The interactive nature of the song made it a personal favorite, and I already see myself doing the dance when I hear it play on my Spotify. Roan, who Rodrigo later admitted was her “number one on Spotify Wrapped,” was an excellent opening act for the Guts World Tour.
Around 30 minutes later, Rodrigo began her performance to a sold-out TD Garden with one of the singles from her recent album, “bad idea right?” The upbeat song, though hard to compare to the SOUR Tour’s aggressive and addictive opener “brutal,” set an exciting tone. Rodrigo’s second album has fewer ballads than her first, focusing instead on more production and a heavy rock influence. While other songs may have better excited the crowd, it did represent the album and the upcoming performance better than the SOUR Tour.
After two upbeat songs, Rodrigo launched into three of her most popular ballads. Starting with “vampire,” she delivered wonderful vocals in the center of the stage as the big screen displayed a large, dark moon. The crowd favorite, “traitor,” played next. Walking around the stage with mic in hand, Rodrigo’s vocals were overpowered by the screaming of 20,000 emotional fans. The girl behind me couldn’t contain her loud crying, repeatedly reminding her friends that this song was “too much” for her. Rodrigo then sat at her piano on center stage and sang “drivers license,” another fan favorite. You could tell people really enjoyed the song, but Rodrigo’s vocals were more discernible this time. She even showed genuine pain at the end of the song, closing her eyes and furrowing her eyebrows, before letting the audience sing a majority of the outro. The audience’s passion for the three ballads reminded me how good those songs truly were and how much they mean to so many people. However, their impact did feel lessened by the size of the arena. I found it difficult to feel the soft but crushing lyrics complemented by piano due to the number of people in the audience, all of whom proved their loyalty with their screaming sing-along.
Before going to concerts, I do as much as I can to avoid learning the setlist. I find the surprise part of the fun. Unfortunately, there was a boy behind me who, after one song finished, would immediately look at his phone and yell to his friends what was next. Though I was annoyed at the beginning, I learned to put my hands around my ears when I could see him looking at his phone.
Five “GUTS” songs followed, allowing Rodrigo’s band to turn up the energy in the arena. During “pretty isn’t pretty” and “love is embarrassing,” Rodrigo showed clear comfort and talent as she performed choreographed pieces with her dancers, all while keeping up vocally. I was genuinely shocked at the proficiency of her dancing, not knowing it was something in her arsenal.
The best visuals came as Rodrigo sat on a purple crescent moon that started lifting in the air. Hundreds of colorful stars floated down from the arena’s ceiling, covering the entire center section with different shades of blue and purple. While Rodrigo slowly floated throughout the sides of the arena, she sang “logical” and “enough for you” while waving to excited fans. Although the lyrics “two plus two equals five” ruin the song “logical” for me, I could not help but sing along, entranced by the visuals and authenticity of Rodrigo’s connection with her fans.
One of my biggest pet peeves at concerts is when artists talk too long between songs. I do not pay money to hear an artist drone the same script night after night, usually ridden with false claims of individuality for the particular venue and audience. With Rodrigo’s newly bolstered discography, she comfortably layered song after song with minimal delay. There was a five-minute pause, almost like an intermission, where the big screen panned to different fans and Rodrigo laughed along and joked with them. She was having such a fun time that she forgot the introduction to her next song, “jealousy, jealousy.”
The second half of the concert was more of the same style; a group of ballads followed by a group of pop-rock songs. To my pleasant surprise, my two favorite songs from each album, “favorite crime” and “lacy,” were played.
Rodrigo began the end of the concert with “brutal,” perfectly introducing the tone for the last four songs. The arena was pumped with energy as she played “obsessed,” a song from the recently released deluxe version, “GUTS (spilled).” Finally, a two-song encore wrapped up Boston night one of the “GUTS” Tour. What followed was a stampede of high school girls exiting their seats, while my friends and I rushed to the Orange Line, hoping for a seat to ease our hurting legs after standing for four hours.
As I sat on my well-deserved Orange Line seat, I contemplated my feelings. I did not expect Rodrigo to be a powerhouse performer, so I was genuinely impressed with her preparation and stage presence. The highlights of the night were her choreographed dancing, interaction with her fans and naturally, her searing vocals.
I must admit that I was not blown away. This could be an unfair criticism, but I didn’t feel like she loved being on stage. It seemed like she was doing it because she knew it was part of her job as an artist.
Rodrigo is a singer that I cannot wait to age with. As many millennials did with Taylor Swift, I think it will be fun to grow with a musician I have listened to since I was 16. I hope to see Rodrigo evolve as an artist both on and off the stage and look forward to whatever her future holds.