*Photo: GUTS World Tour promotional poster via Wikipedia..
As GUTS World Tour began, Olivia Rodrigo appeared on the main stage in a silver two piece set, opening up with her track, "Bad Idea, Right?" and then transitioning into the rock anthem "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl." In the exciting first act of the tour, she runs across the stage, dances around, and welcomes everyone to their night of the fucking Guts World Tour. I managed to secure a VIP pit ticket for the show, and it was incredible to be right at the barricade, where it was clear that she wanted to take every chance to be interactive and share moments with her audience. After performing the emotional anthems "Vampire" and "Traitor," Olivia went backstage to change into a new outfit and set her piano up on the main stage for the next couple songs.
The transition from "Driver's License" to "Teenage Dream" was complete with old videos of a young Olivia and felt so touching when looking at the successful artist that she is today. She delved into a speech about how she felt less scared of growing up, mentioning how she just had her 21st birthday the month before. The audience sang along to these tracks and held up flashlights on their phone, uniting us all together as we joined Olivia in performing the single that made her a star and the closing track to her sophomore album. For "Pretty Isn't Pretty" and "Love Is Embarrassing," Olivia and her dancers went into a choreography that was fitting with each song's lyrics and moved down the right and left catwalks. I was fortunate enough to be at the end of the right catwalk for "Pretty Isn't Pretty," and it was amazing to be up close as she sang a song so relatable right now.
For "Logical" and "Enough For You," she transitioned from her butterfly-shaped stage to the moon, where she floated on a track across the arena. She stopped between songs to have different sections to scream, ask if anyone had attended her Sour Tour in Milwaukee, and even sang "Happy Birthday" to everyone in the audience celebrating. Coming back to the stage, she went into "Jealousy, Jealousy" and walked down the barricade to hold fans' hands and sing the track with them. For "Happier" and "Favorite Crime," she sat down right in front of me, and the audience once again held up their flashlights as she went into (in my opinion) two of the best songs off her Sour album. The next song was "Deja Vu," which she ran all across the stage to sing and had the audience screaming along with her, particularly shouting "I love you!" in between the chorus and the verse. Next, she stood at the main stage and went into two of my personal favorites, "The Grudge" and "Can't Catch Me Now."
To close the concert, Olivia changed into a sequin red romper, ripped star tights, and went into her more rock-inspired tracks. For "Brutal," she jumped around and screamed, with a stage presence that had the audience moving along with her. She continued to rock out with next song, "Obsessed," ending the performance strumming power chords on an electric guitar. For "All-American Bitch," she danced around the stage and turned the lights off for a moment so that everyone could think of things that made them upset and scream. It. was loud. And a fitting way to end the concert, before she came back out for the encore. In a shift from Sour Tour, Olivia got a little raunchier -- switching to the original "perfect all-American tits" line in "All-American Bitch" and humping the air at the end of the stage for "Obsessed." For the encore, she sang "Good 4 U," same as she did for Sour Tour. Then, she ended with "Get Him Back!," starting off holding a megaphone and asking Milwaukee, "Are you still with me?"
Olivia ended the encore by coming down and walking through the barricade, where she held hands, took gifts, and chatted with as many fans as she could. It was a sweet moment to end such an incredible show. As someone who attend Sour Tour, it was amazing to see the growth in Olivia's stage presence, vocal ability, and stage production since her first tour two years ago. Not only an incredible singer and song writer, Olivia is a performer and one that you cannot miss. If you have any way of still attending the Guts World Tour on this leg or the next, definitely check for tickets. As she sings about heartbreak, angst, and envy, it is easy to relate to her music and therapeutically get to scream the lyrics in an arena full of so many other people that get it too.
Written By Sydney Gray
*copyright not intended. Fair use act, section 107.