You can tell what kind of crowd you’re getting into at a concert based on what everyone’s wearing. For Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, different themes abounded, all involving one of Swift’s many albums.
For Beyoncé’s most recent concerts, it was silver, glitter and cowgirls, reflecting the disco influences on her album “Renaissance” and her hometown roots. For Olivia Rodrigo on Friday night, it was purple, red and pink, bedazzled jackets, prom dresses, hair bows and combat boots.
But buried beneath the glitter, glitz, sparkle and bliss of the attires were shirts with references to her lyrics and online presence, like: “I can fix him” “All-American (expletive)” “Obsessed with your ex” “Spill your guts” “Bringing two teenagers to a show.
Bad idea, right?” “Miss well meaning” “Everything I do is tragic” “Y’all know that little Mexican girl Olivia Rodriguez that be crying” The last one in particular, from an infamous online taunt, stuck out not only because Rodrigo is not Mexican (she’s of Filipino descent), but because she wasn’t the one doing the crying Friday night.
All around T-Mobile Center at her sold-out Guts World Tour show Friday, thousands of teenagers could be seen with tears coming from their eyes, overwhelmed at seeing their favorite artist live or connecting with the content of the songs (one of Rodrigo’s songs, “teenage dream,” is about how things will get better as they grow up).
Here’s what you missed in case you weren’t able to secure tickets in time.
WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE GUTS WORLD TOUR IN KANSAS CITY?
Before the 21-year-old pop superstar commanded the arena during her nearly two-hour set, United Kingdom pop singer PinkPantheress got the crowd amped up. Friday’s performance marked both Rodrigo and PinkPantheress’ first times on stage in Kansas City.
While not the most engaging performer since most of her songs clock in under 3 minutes, PinkPantheress played the songs the crowd would know the most, like “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2.” Very few people could be seen sitting down as soon as the Guts candles on the video board melted after the U.K. singer’s set ended, counting down the seconds until Rodrigo appeared on stage.
The video board changed for each song, showing a baby video montage of Rodrigo during “teenage dream,” and following her around like an old-school rock music video rock performance during her explicit “all american” song. The spectacle included background dancers who appeared for select songs and performed their own choreography while Rodrigo happily skipped from side to side in her big combat boots, making sure she was giving every part of the crowd some attention.
Fans as young as 6 years old screamed as loud as they could, as Rodrigo encouraged them to. It had to feel like therapy for the thousands of kids and teenagers in attendance to let any anger and frustration they’ve been holding onto. As the show went on, the energy never died down, despite Rodrigo’s best attempts to tire them out with upbeat songs followed by slow piano ballads.
Some of the teens, kids and families The Star talked to early in the day could be seen in the front row, jumping and singing along to every song. At the midway point of the show, Rodrigo climbed onto a crescent moon and ascended through the arena, taking a tour to look at all the faces in the crowd. Sections would cheer as she waved at them during two of her slower songs, “logical,” and “enough for you.”
In a particularly memorable moment as she climbed down, Rodrigo started reading signs from fans and found one from 10-year-old Ellie, holding a sign that said Friday was her birthday. Rodrigo sang happy birthday to her with help from the crowd. Kansas City didn’t get a surprise guest like Lexington, Kentucky, did with Tyler Childers performing on stage with her. But they did boo Rodrigo when she asked who was in the crowd with their boyfriend or girlfriend. God, it’s brutal out here.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE FOR FANS AT THE GUTS CONCERT?
Quinton Cross, a 17-year-old from Lee’s Summit, had hopped in the VIP line on Oak Street at 7:15 a.m. Donning a sequined rainbow jacket and cowboy hat, he was in the front row and could be seen from anywhere in the arena. Right next to him were Paige DeWeerdt, Samantha Fitch, Harper Heston and Lauren Tetzlaff, a group of girls from Des Moines who lined up at the arena at 2:45 a.m. to get as close to the singer as possible.
Cross was one of the lucky fans to interact with Rodrigo during the show, as she plucked a painting he brought for her from the crowd before launching into “jealousy, jealousy” from her debut album, “SOUR.”
The young crowd may not have realized at the time, but this could be considered their first pop-punk concert, despite Rodrigo’s ostensibly pop sound. It’s hard to pass off the hard-hitting rock band in the background as a pop act.
For many in the crowd, this was their first concert ever — and it might be hard to top.
WHAT WAS OLIVIA RODRIGO’S SETLIST?
Rodrigo performed 23 songs during her show, including a two-song encore:
“bad idea right?” “ballad of a homeschooled girl” “vampire” “traitor” “drivers license” “teenage dream” “pretty isn’t pretty” “love is embarrassing” “making the bed” “logical” “enough for you” “lacy” “so american” “jealousy, jealousy” “happier” “favorite crime” “deja vu” “the grudge” “brutal” “obsessed” “all-american bitch” “good 4 u” “get him back!”
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