Review: Olivia Rodrigo delivers an incredible night for Bay Area fans
Olivia Rodrigo wowed fans during the first of two sold-out shows of her Guts Tour at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Olivia Rodrigo had just bounced into action — quite literally — exhibiting oodles of energy as she headbanged alongside her guitarist and led the some 15,000 joyous, mostly young fans in a massive sing-along of “Bad Idea Right?”
“Welcome to the Guts Tour,” she proclaimed at the start of her concert on Friday night at Chase Center in San Francisco. “Tonight is going to be so much (expletive) fun.”
And, wow, was she ever not kidding.
Friday’s show — the first of two sold-out nights at the home of the Golden State Warriors — was just brimming with youthful exuberance and passion, wildly enjoyable tunes and big-time pop theatrics.
Yet, it was also so much more than just mere fun, as Rodrigo exhibited a depth of songwriting talent and savvy — as well as an ability to deeply connect with the crowd — which was strikingly impressive for an entertainer of any age, let alone one that just turned 21 earlier this year.
Yes, parents, your kids definitely know what they are talking about when they claim this SoCal singer-songwriter — who came to first came to fame on the excellent Disney Channel series “Bizaardvark” — as being a rare talent. And, truth be told, many parents are onboard with that assessment as well, judging by the number of moms and dads that could be seen singing along with gusto at Chase.
With two critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums to her credit — the 2021 debut “Sour” and last year’s “Guts” — Rodrigo is now firmly establishing herself as one of the top touring acts in the business. The two Chase outings ranked among the toughest tickets of the year in the Bay Area and don’t be surprised if she joins the likes of Taylor Swift and Beyonce in playing stadiums on her next tour.
Judging by what we saw on Friday, she already appears ready to take her game to the next level.
The 23-song performance that Rodrigo offered up over the course of roughly 110 minutes at Chase was marvelous from start to finish. It was expertly paced, in terms of the mix of up-tempo tunes and softer material, and there was nary a dull moment. And, importantly, there was a true sense of momentum throughout, as the tension and excitement just kept right on building until we reached the glorious crescendo of the encore.
Rodrigo did a fine job with the rowdy numbers early on, grooving with her all-female seven-piece band on “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl” and holding her own with the eight-member dance team with “Traitor.”
Yet, she’d do her some of her best work when things slowed down, and the other performers retreated from the spotlight, allowing Rodrigo’s words to more fully connect with her adoring fans.
One of the most striking moments came right after the star exited the stage following “Traitor,” only to suddenly appear amid a rolling sea of fog. She sat at a black grand piano, which was slowly being lifted through the floor, and tenderly sang the number that kickstarted this whole phenomenon — the achingly raw debut single “Drivers License.” The voices from the crowd joined along with her in mass, thundering through the lyrics in a way that somehow conveyed both joy and anguish.
“San Francisco, you guys are going to make me blush,” Rodrigo said of the crowd’s rapturous response to “Drivers License.”
Yet, “Drivers License” was hardly unique on this night. Indeed, those kinds of moments — where one star and 15,000 fans came together and seemed inseparable during the course of a three-minute pop song — just kept right on repeating.
Another showstopper came when she boarded a huge crescent moon, suspended by cables from the roof, and rode through a sea of stars toward the back of the arena floor while singing “Logical.” It was a gorgeous move, but the big “pop show” theatrics were still outclassed — as they were throughout the night — by Rodrigo’s ability to strike an unshakeable connection with fans through her words.
And it’s not hard to see why when you nestle into the lyrics and notice the careful balance she is able to strike between teenage dreams and ageless wisdom, somehow making them feel like they are one in the same because, well, maybe they are. It’s hard to imagine anyone not identifying with a song like “Happier,” which paints such a hauntingly realistic view of a jilted lover trying to recover, and be OK with, the break up of a relationship.
“I hope you’re happy,” Rodrigo sings on this “Sour” number. “But not like how you were with me. I’m selfish, I know, I can’t let you go. So find someone great, but don’t find no one better. I hope you’re happy, but don’t be happier.”
Rodrigo closed the main set in big rockin’ fashion, sending seemingly everyone in the house into full-on pogo-mode with “Brutal” and then writhing her way through a heated take on “Obsessed” before closing with the Avril Lavigne-style pop-punk nugget “All-American Bitch.”
Yet, the night was not quite done, as the megastar returned for a fun two-song encore of “Good 4 U” and “Get Him Back!” that further showed why she must now be ranked among the top pop stars in the business.
Setlist:
1. “Bad Idea Right?”
2. “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl”
3. “Vampire”
4. “Traitor”
5. “Drivers License”
6. “Teenage Dream”
7. “Pretty Isn’t Pretty”
8. “Love Is Embarrassing”
9. “Making the Bed”
10. “Logical”
11. “Enough for You”
12. “Lacy”
13. “So American”
14. “Jealousy, Jealousy”
15. “Happier”
16. “Favorite Crime”
17. “Deja Vu”
18. “The Grudge”
19. “Brutal”
20. “Obsessed”
21. “All-American Bitch”
Encore:
22. “Good 4 U”
23. “Get Him Back!”
