Brat spring is upon us in Chicago, it seems.
Pop singer-songwriter Charli xcx brought Brat to Chicagoland this past week. On her second tour in support of her sixth studio album, 2024’s Brat, the singer performed in Rosemont’s Allstate Arena to an absolutely electric crowd of leather-and-neon-green-clad superfans.
The album itself, released on June 7, 2024, created nothing short of a saga this past summer – think the inescapable dance to Brat hit “Apple” on TikTok, vibrant green billboards across the country and even Kamala Harris’ usage of Brat as a political campaign tool. It was an era glimmering in shades of neon lime green, accessorized effortlessly with last night’s eyeliner and held together with the hem of a leather miniskirt.
Then, it was fall, and, despite the industry’s quick turnover and the short attention spans of many of today’s young music listeners, Brat stuck around. Charli xcx embarked on her Sweat Tour with co-headliner and Australian pop singer Troye Sivan. The tour ran for 21 dates from early September to late October, and I, along with many Brat summer diehards, thought I had missed my chance to experience the album live, and that the moment for Brat would soon pass.
Winter came along, and Brat hype continued as Charli xcx took home her first three Grammys of her over-a-decade-long career. Brat earned a few trophies and a high-energy performance slot, and for many music fans, the moment reflected the remarkable staying power of the work itself. As I watched “Von Dutch” and “Guess” light up the Grammys from the comfort of my couch, an April Brat arena tour date loomed in the back of my mind.
Fast forward to a Monday night in Rosemont, Illinois. Not exactly a hot spot – sans a flight out of the neighboring Chicago-O’Hare International Airport, it’s not a place I’d usually end up. A Monday night concert does not exactly give Brat 3-6-5 party girl energy, but nonetheless, anticipation was high.
The show began with a set from British musician Finn Keane. Keane, a producer on Charli xcx tracks like “Speed Drive” and “Von Dutch,” performed mostly electronic DJ tracks as fans found their seats, a loud and very much appropriate way to begin a high-energy concert like this one. Keane brought enough to get the crowd buzzing, prepping them for the night’s headliner.
The singer opened up with “365” where she set the tone for the show, singing “Who the f*** are you, I’m a brat” to the roaring crowd. The audience was captivated by her every (seemingly spontaneous) move as she commanded the stage with a striking presence – no backup dancers needed.
The third song of the night, “Von Dutch,” a Brat fan favorite, certainly did not disappoint. The singer jumped, twisted, ran and shoved the camera following her around as the effects on the big screen exploded with movement to the beat of the chorus. Charli, eyeing the audience intensely and dripping in sweat, still looked like she was having the time of her life. As she sang to the crowd, “It’s okay to just admit that you’re jealous of me,” I couldn’t help but realize I was. Her star power was laid out in front of everyone, completely undeniable.
Fans around me head-banged and mimicked the singer’s constant movement, and I, along with many others, found myself gripping the bar in front of me to hold on for the ride. For “Talk Talk,” she told the crowd that this one was for George, which devoted fans knew meant Charli’s fiance, The 1975’s George Daniel, another Brat producer. In this track, Charli encapsulated a quieter yet universal party-going experience, one of insecurity and longing as she sang “Wish you’d just talk to me” about the early stages of their relationship. The performance showed the other side of the party girl coin — a more messy, vulnerable and poutier brat.
She seamlessly transitioned to “Apple,” the bouncy and almost childish-sounding pop track that, for the crowd, manifests in the form of the famous “Apple dance.” As she sang, Charli nonchalantly took sips from a glass with lemon (…Water? …Not water? Who’s to say?).
Other highlights included “Guess” featuring Billie Eilish (not present), a thumping track that made the crowd feel essentially rave-like, and “Girl, so confusing” featuring Lorde, collaborations that underscore what Brat is truly about. The latter, an electronic song that sounds sonically like a glitch with a throbbing baseline, is an ode to girlhood and the sometimes confusing dynamics within female friendships. This performance introduced a somewhat-meta, “I made it” moment for the singer, as the audience screamed along with the recording of Lorde’s verse “forgot that inside the icon, there’s still a young girl from Essex.”
“Sympathy is a knife” marked the show’s high point, a moodier, anguished track that explores envy and jealousy in a relationship and the false narratives we tell ourselves. After a few more songs from Brat, the performance concluded with some exciting nods to past Charli hits, like the dreamy electropop track “party 4 u” (2020) and the singer’s most well-known track “I Love It” with Icona Pop (2012).
Deliberately, of course, the night is a blur. The setlist fused together in a sea of strobe lights and visual chaos, making the show feel less like a concert and more like the party Charli was singing about the whole time. People’s morning deadlines, bills to pay and other normal Monday evening stressors faded away within the concrete walls of Allstate Arena in exchange for an all-out party, a phenomenon that no doubt carried on at her Barclays Center shows throughout the rest of this week in Brooklyn.
I had the privilege of seeing Charli open for Taylor Swift’s 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour, but this was different. While always a powerhouse performer and talented pop writer, there’s something so authentically Charli about Brat specifically. I even found myself purchasing a neon-green Brat hoodie that matches nothing else I own (and wearing it daily since). Fantastic album marketing? Absolutely, but there’s certainly something to be said about the never-ending Bratosphere we find ourselves in.
Brat not only celebrates the messy, overly confident party girl’s party girl persona, but it also brings this aesthetic to life. Brat is more than an album—it’s a mindset, a way of life, at least according to its creator, and it’s still going strong. What I saw on Monday wasn’t just a masterclass in live performance; it was a victory lap for an artist who has long been underestimated, finally getting her flowers.
At the end of her set, black-and-white visuals flashed the words, “I just want this moment to last forever,” and for a moment, it felt like it might. I hoped it would.
Then came the message, “Please don’t let it [the Brat era] be over.” Charli xcx continues to play with the tension of the Brat era overstaying its welcome in the world of musical trends. One year later, that tension has clearly only fueled the Brat hype and the artist’s live-show ability.
