This past Sunday, October 13th, alt-pop superstar Billie Eilish took over Pittsburgh with her “HIT ME HARD AND SOFT: THE TOUR.” The show took place downtown at PPG Paints Arena in front of a sold out crowd of over 20,000. In a span of just eight years, this is Eilish’s seventh headlining tour and third arena tour.
NASH senior Camille Schantz could not have been more excited to attend.
“The show was unreal and was such an amazing experience,” she said. “It felt magical, and it was so incredible being so close to Billie as well as hearing her amazing voice.”
Tickets went on sale in April, with the release of HIT ME HARD AND SOFT following just weeks later, but issues arose with Ticketmaster’s presale. With the transfer option turned off in attempts to minimize scalpers, many fans were left without tickets, as this meant all tickets on third party resale sites were fake. Ticketmaster released a handful of tickets the day before and of the show. Although many fans were left ticketless, some scored last-minute tickets.
NASH junior Andrew Mitterer was one of these lucky few.
“I was not able to get tickets until just before the show. Like Ticketmaster’s usual fiascos, the tickets that went on sale originally were extremely expensive and I did not have the money for it,” Mitterer said. “I was unable to get them on resale sites, and very last minute scored some right before the show in section 114. Even then, each one for my mom and me were $224 each, which is still really expensive.”
American pop-rock sibling duo Nat & Alex Wolff opened the show. The brothers’ musical talent was first recognized on Nickelodeon’s The Naked Brothers Band, created and produced by their mother, actress Polly Draper. The duo has heavy influences from Nirvana, The Killers, The Doors, and Coldplay.
Eilish’s setlist consisted of 24 songs, lasting from 8:30 PM to 10:30 PM and showcasing a wide variety of her discography from 2016 to 2024.
“I made sure not to look at the setlist before the concert so that I could be surprised when the concert came. At the time, I was super happy with everything she played,” NASH senior Isa Zavolta said.
But like any true fan, Zavolta wished there could have been more.
“There are a few things that I wish had been different,” she said. “I wish she would’ve played ‘NDA’ longer since it’s such a cool song to hear live. Some of the songs on her albums transition together, and I wish she would have played them together at the show. It would have been nice to hear more from dont smile at me, but I understand why she didn’t play them. Overall, it was still the best concert I have ever been to.”
For junior Casey Richey, Sunday night at PPG was a highlight of the year.
“My favorite part of the show was when she played ‘The Greatest,'” Richey said. “It is by far my absolute favorite song she’s ever released. I relate to that song so much, and hearing it live was totally surreal. Along with that, the entire show was absolutely amazing.”
