As the snow starts to melt and the temperature begins to rise, it becomes much easier for devoted fans to wait all day to see their favourite artists in show. When I arrived at Corona Theatre, there was already a fairly long line filled with fans dressed in Billie Eilish merchandise.
After a few hours of waiting, we were finally let in the theatre. It quickly got crowded and cramped. Everyone got a little impatient while waiting for the show to start. But the mood quickly changed when the opener Reo Cragun hopped his way on stage. Before playing any original music, he and his DJ made sure the crowd got loose. They played songs that got the audience dancing and singing, which was quite refreshing after waiting in a tight crowd.
Surrounded by blue lights, Reo had his audience dancing along to his very mellow and rhythmic songs such as “Nightcrawler” and “Growing Pains.” He was very interactive with the crowd, goofing around with his DJ and telling us that he claims to be a terrible dancer. But, between you and me, he isn’t all that bad.
Reo Cragun gave us an excellent performance, but he wasn’t the star of the show. That fact was crystal clear once the lights turned off again, and Finneas O’Connell, Billie’s brother, and her drummer marched onto stage wearing matching white jumpsuits, and green Billie Eilish bandanas hiding their face. They then held up their cash cannons towards the crowd, shooting million dollar paper money with Billie’s face printed on them.
16-year-old Billie Eilish then walked over on stage, performing her first song of the night “Bellyache.” And you can already tell that Montreal was going to give her a good first impression. Her energy was amazing, the audience was loud, and her passion could clearly be seen, surrounded by the red and orange flashing lights. The young and talented artist showed off her love of dance, performing a small choreography with Finneas and getting the crowd to go absolutely wild. After performing a few more songs, Billie called her brother up to the center of attention so he can perform his own song “New Girl.” The crowd watched in awe while Finneas showed off his amazing vocals, being bathed in a light of an eerie green tone.
Clearly proud of her older brother, Billie Eilish bounced back to her spot on stage with her ukulele strapped to her shoulders. She laughed and interacted with the crowd a bit, then moved on to performing her cover of Drake’s “Hotline Bling.” Once the song was finished, it transitioned into the familiar sound of a ringing phone. Indicating that she was about to perform “Party Favor”.
My personal favourite part of the night, was when she brought out a stool, and sat down right up in front of the crowd to sing us her unreleased song. She asked the crowd to avoid being on their phones and to instead hold up a light so that we could all share the moment with her. It was truly amazing. The entire theatre was lit up and was dead silent. The only thing that could be heard was Billie’s amazing vocals.
Finally, the last song “My Boy” was performed. It gave off a much different mood than the last couple more relaxed and sadder songs did. Everyone was jumping around and singing, really feeling the music that was being played for them live. When Billie left the stage for the first time, there was non-stop screaming in the theatre. It was loud too. My ears are still ringing. After a couple of minutes, Billie Eilish and her band ran back on enthusiastically and played “Hostage” for us. A personal favourite. Before performing her very last song of the night, she told the crowd that she had an absolute blast in Montreal, and made a promise to come back as soon as she could. She then made us promise that we would get absolutely wild for her last song. She played “COPYCAT.” An excellent close to an amazing night. It was angry, it was spontaneous, and it made everyone go absolutely nuts. She made the crowd squat during the bridge, and all hell broke loose when everyone jumped back up. It was incredible.
At the end of the song, Billie took in the screams that were being thrown her way. She then threw herself into the crowd, and everyone made a joint effort to help Billie crowd surf. My friends and I had the opportunity of meeting Billie Eilish after the show. She is an extremely down to earth person. You can really tell that she’s a young teen just living her best life. I look forward to seeing Billie’s future of success, and I really look forward to seeing her next show in Montreal.
Review – Jamie Siddall
Photos – Steve Gerrard
