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Five thoughts: Olivia Rodrigo at the Chelsea in Las Vegas (May 20, 2022)

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Olivia Rodrigo, performing at the Chelsea on May 20.
Courtesy/Chelsea Christensen

1. It felt like 1995 in the Chelsea Friday night. Alanis Morissette blasted out over the venue speakers. Fresh-faced teens with butterfly clips in their hair and pleated miniskirts filed into the general admission section. A pair of girls seated in the aisle rows snapped a selfie together with a disposable camera.

You can thank Olivia Rodrigo for that surge of nostalgia. Ever since the teenage Disney actress released last year's critically acclaimed Sour, her angsty homage to '90s pop-punk and the icons who helped define it, Gen-Z fans have been indulging in the era. It’s fun to see how far Rodrigo’s influence has stretched, especially after such a rapid ascent.  

2. Opener Holly Humberstone is an artist to watch. The British pop breakout, who received a Rising Star Prize at the BRIT Awards last year, warmed the room with her soft, lightly accented vocals. In contrast, Humberstone squeaked adorably during her banter, making the audience fall more in love with her. She alternated between acoustic and electric guitars, fusing in new sounds from her electronic beat pad, too. It was a busy set but multi-layered and full of interesting mixings from Humberstone, who appeared completely in her element onstage. 

Holly Humberstone, performing at the Chelsea on May 20.

Holly Humberstone, performing at the Chelsea on May 20.

3. Rodrigo could have gone bigger. Judging by the packed venue, the 19-year-old superstar might have filled an arena-size venue. But she seems in no rush to grow too soon. When she announced her first tour, Rodrigo specifically told NME she wanted to play smaller venues, so as not to “skip any steps.” I respect that walk-before-you-run mentality, even if the singer-songwriter seemed like she sprinted all of last year.

She also seems adamant about letting her fans act their age, too. At the bar, a special Olivia Rodrigo drink menu featured a mocktail cleverly titled “Driver’s License” and a cocktail called “Chaperone” for their parents and guardians. I’ve never seen such a themed menu before, and commend the inclusivity of it for such a huge all-ages show.

4. The stage design took us back. The singer bounded onto the Chelsea stage with her all-female rock ensemble, her set appearing straight out of a ’90s teen romance and its high school prom finale. A backdrop of metallic black fringe shimmered, with bleachers flanking both sides of the stage and a large disco ball hanging from the ceiling. At one point, the ball started to spin in all of its luster (come on down for the couple’s dance). The band launched into a rollicking jam sesh shortly thereafter, as their prom queen slipped into a glittering evening dress for the dancey occasion.

5. Rodrigo’s a juggernaut in her newly embraced genre. Opening song “Brutal” shook the foundation of the Chelsea so much, you could feel the rolling vibrations of the hopping GA crowd from the aisle seats. Rodrigo seemed to relish the energy, racing across the stage, touching fans’ hands and dramatically playing up lines like “I'm so sick of 17/Where's my f*cking teenage dream?”

What the young actress lacks in physical size, she made up for in exuberant onstage personality. Whether she was wryly singing the lyrics to a song about her infamously terrible ex or lounging atop her bejeweled piano, Rodrigo brought a show. During the especially popular "Deja Vu," she swiped a fan's phone and recorded herself singing to it (fingers crossed it saved). And toward the end of the emotionally charged "Driver's License" she gave the audience a full solo, hollering "Sing it!" as they blew through the chorus a cappella. 

Rodrigo also took a break from Sour to pay tribute to two of her punk idols. She had older audience members feeling like they were 16 again with covers of No Doubt's "Just a Girl" and Avril Lavigne's "Complicated." And the smile on the 19-year-old Rodrigo's face during those songs never wavered. 

We were spent by the end of the evening. But Rodrigo's riotous closer, "Good 4 U," acted as a sonic adrenaline shot for the crowd. You could barely hear yourself speak or even think, because so many fans were shouting the words.

"Well good for you/I guess you moved on/really easily," Rodrigo sang in the closing lines. Sorry to disagree, but it'll be hard to move on from a performance like this one.

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Amber Sampson

Amber Sampson is a Staff Writer for Las Vegas Weekly. She got her start in journalism as an intern at ...

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