We’re in an era of emerging legends, and if you manage to see more than one in a single night at a small show, consider yourself lucky. Billie Eilish surprised her fans on August 29 by bringing boygenius and Labrinth on stage at an intimate, small-venue show in London.
The indie rock band of three — made up of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker — joined Eilish on stage at Electric Ballroom in Camden to a crowd of 1,500. The band accompanied Eilish in singing, “When The Party’s Over,” a fan-fave single from her Grammy-winning debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
Eilish’s Tuesday night performance was announced just days before on August 26th, the night after she headlined the opening night of the UK’s iconic Leeds Festival and just before she closed Reading. The exclusive show featured a pared down 20-song setlist. NME reports that right before bringing out boygenius, Eilish asked her fans to lower their phones for a moment so that she could see their reactions with her own eyes. “I’m in love with all three of them. Truly,” Eilish said after the group's exit.
Genre-defier, Euphoria sound master, and Eilish's collaborator Labrinth also joined her onstage for a surprise appearance to perform their joint track “Never Felt So Alone.”
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As gratifying as intimate shows are, it’s not easy for someone as popular as Billie Eilish to put together a cozy-feeling concert. Tickets sold out almost instantly, and Eilish had to pause the show multiple times to make sure the crowd was safe. “Can we get some water for these folks? Like where is security? Am I security now?” she asked, according to NME.
“I haven’t played a small venue in literally six years. I’ve forgotten how to do this… I’m having an anxiety attack right now," she said. "This felt like a good idea… Once. You guys look like you’re gonna die. Take a step back.”
Eilish commented again later in the show on the lack of crowd control, criticizing the venue's security. “It’s been a minute since we’ve done this… Who needs an inhaler?” she added. “I feel like I’m babysitting. Do you feel ok for me to keep going?”
It’s definitely a vibe shift to go from headlining a festival of over 170,000 attendees to playing for a room of 1,500. We’re probably safe to assume Eilish won’t be performing more small-venue shows for a while — at least not without stronger crowd control.
