Olivia Rodrigo crushes awesome sold-out Fiserv Forum concert in Milwaukee

Of the dozens of unforgettable lyrics “Livies” belted out at top of their lungs during Olivia Rodrigo’s sold-out Milwaukee concert Saturday, one especially resonated.

“When am I going to stop being great for my age and just start being good,” she sang from behind a piano on “Teenage Dream,” accompanied by home movies of herself as a young girl playing pop star in her living room.

During her hour-and-45 set at Fiserv Forum Saturday, Rodrigo definitively answered her own question. That time is right now — and we have to change the “good” to “great.”

It only took an hourlong set at the Rave’s Eagles Ballroom in 2022 — just the 10th concert of her career — to confirm that the now 21-year-old Rodrigo is one of the most remarkable artists of her generation.

But her Fiserv Forum show demonstrated she’s one of the best arena-caliber artists of any generation — whether she was delivering withering lines as she sprinted around the stage with a rebellious smirk for "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl," or pouring her heart out while sitting on the stage floor next to an acoustic guitarist for "Happier" and "Favorite Crime."

Her songs of insecurities and heartbreak, toxic guys and cruel double standards, spoke deeply to the teen and twentysomething women who dominated the audience at the Milwaukee Bucks arena Saturday night. But nearly every song on Rodrigo's first two albums — 2022's "Sour" and last year's "Guts" — are so exquisitely written, and so powerfully performed live, that anyone with a beating heart is bound to be moved.

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Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" skipped over Milwaukee, so Rodrigo's "Guts" tour can claim the title of the city's most in-demand concert post-pandemic. Only lottery winners who scored required access codes were able to purchase tickets first-hand.

But the "Guts" tour isn't going to go down as the most eye-popping spectacle of the year. And honestly, that's for the best.

I still bristle at how Ariana Grande's team let her down with her first arena tour in 2015, throwing in so many bells and whistles that Grande's shaky confidence overshadowed everything. Since the "Guts" tour is not drowning in spectacle and overstuffed with cues, Rodrigo was clearly comfortable and commanding.

The show still had some striking visuals that will become core memories for Milwaukee fans, from the stage floor becoming engulfed in purple fog as Rodrigo played the piano for "Drivers License," to a ride atop a suspended crescent moon over the arena floor for "Logical" and "Enough for You."

And "Get Him Back!" was a blast of a finale — literally, with an explosion of confetti — combined with Rodrigo drolly delivering lyrical knockout blows through a megaphone, and vamping for a tour camera placed under a clear plastic floor on a section of the stage with her eight dancers.

Those dancers, used sparingly (with Rodrigo only occasionally joining their routines), were effective enhancements. With Rodrigo atop a glitter-covered circular table for "Lacy," the dancers slid out from underneath her on their sides and backs, the camera positioned above them documenting a striking Busby Berkeley-like set piece. Having their shadows projected on the stage's big screen for a tormented modern dance was a fitting signifier for the towering betrayal of "Traitor," while their bouncy, ragdoll-like routine captured the amusing awkwardness of "Love Is Embarrassing."

Like Rodrigo's dance crew, her seven backing musicians was absent any cisgender men, and they had their own shining moments.

The backing singers joined forces for haunting choruses for "Can't Catch Me Now," Rodrigo's contribution to "The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," and her bassist coolly strummed through a sticky riff to ease into "Jealousy, Jealousy." The guitars and drums assault were so intense for "Good 4 U" and "Brutal" that my section of seats in the arena rocked wildly from all the bouncing bodies, and Rodrigo got to deliciously rip into a guitar and smash cymbals for vinyl-only release "Obsessed."

And the fleeting moments of restraint were just as powerful — like when the music cut out at the utterance of "stop" for opener "Bad Idea Right?," creating a spellbinding moment of silent, suspended tension.

Rodrigo herself has recognized that sometimes less can be more, evident in the 23-song set's two finest performances, of "The Grudge" and "Vampire."

Perhaps these songs, as some fans have speculated, are about her rumored feud with Taylor Swift. Perhaps they're not. But honestly, that doesn't matter.

Rodrigo's riveting lyrics — every single lyric exquisitely chosen, expertly executed — are the real story. And nothing got in their way Saturday.

No big theatrics, no overwrought renditions. The power came from Rodrigo, deeply pained behind the glittery getups and shimmering mascara, poignantly delivering brutal lines like "You built me up to watch me fall/You have everything and you still want more" (from "The Grudge"), and "You can't love anyone, 'cause that would mean you had a heart" ("Vampire"). Rodrigo was appropriately tormented singing these songs, but her ability to process her feelings so precisely is a special kind of strength.

And as Rodrigo spoke from behind the piano ahead of "Teenage Dream" Saturday, talking about turning 21 last month and shouting out her fellow Pisces, she offered an inspired self-reflection that had already been abundantly, and beautifully, clear: "I feel like I know myself so much more."

Opener Chappell Roan might become a superstar herself

Missouri native Chappell Roan scored the coveted Rodrigo opening slot thanks to last year’s acclaimed debut album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.” But during a 40-minute set, it was nothing but rise, baby.

Bouncing across the stage and belting to the rafters, Roan (real name Kayleigh Rose Amstutz) conveyed the exuberance of young queer love (and queer self love) on unbeatable bops like “Red Wine Supernova,” “Naked in Manhattan” and “Pink Pony Club.” She honored pop goddess Madonna with her own “Vogue”-like club crusher “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl,” and went full Village People with unabashedly cheesy, spell-with-your-body dance moves on “Hot to Go” — moves that quickly caught on across an already full arena. And the emotional heft from lyrics on “My Kink Is Karma” were more cutting, more satisfying than that other big newish pop song with "karma" in the title. (Sorry,Swifties, don’t come at me.)

Like Rodrigo, Roan’s go-to collaborator (on this first album anyway) is Dan Nigro, and some melodies here, some angelic choruses and cheerleader cries there, sound like they could have come from “Sour” or “Guts.” But Roan’s music is generally and distinctly much more optimistic. Between that approach, her own unshakeable earworms and quote-worthy lyrics, and her unstoppable stage presence and rich personality, Roan has what it takes to become a major pop force in her own right.

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6 takeaways from Olivia Rodrigo's Milwaukee concert

• After the music stopped and the band left, Rodrigo was still there. For a few minutes, she walked through the pit to high-five, thank and hug hundreds of adoring fans, beaming as she collected purple cowboy hats, drawings and other items.

• Just like at the Rave show, Rodrigo's setlist order Saturday was bold and unexpected. The former hit "Drivers License" just three songs in, and Saturday, Rodrigo played "Vampire," "Traitor" and "Drivers License" back-to-back for songs three through five. It really speaks to her concert chops that the crowd energy never lagged even after some of her biggest hits were over with early in the night.

• Favorite mother-daughter moment: During "All-American Bitch," which juxtaposes cheeky lines about unrealistic feminine expectations ("I've got sun in my (expletive) pocket, best believe") over traditional English ballad-like melodies with bursts of visceral punk, Rodrigo at the climax encouraged the crowd to purge their internal fury with a cathartic scream. That prompted the mom in front of me to quickly cover her ears — and her (possibly embarrassed) daughter to swat away at her hands.

• Appreciated the customized touch from one of Rodrigo's guitarists during the band introductions, who played the opening licks from "Blister in the Sun" by Milwaukee's own Violent Femmes.

• Walking around the 100-level concourse shortly before Roan started, I personally didn't see any booths for abortion funds that have been getting media and social media attention at other stops on the tour this week. But there was a voter registration area inside the arena that was pretty hopping when I passed by.

• Naturally, there were pricy items in the merch stores, and not surprisingly huge lines at nearly all of them. But hats off to the tour for offering some cheaper items like stickers and Band-Aids, and for selling a $20 women's "Guts" tour shirt through Target, complete with a list of cities it's hitting on the back (in case you didn’t snag one Saturday).

Olivia Rodrigo's Fiserv Forum setlist

1. "Bad Idea Right?"

2. "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl"

3. "Vampire"

4. "Traitor"

5. "Drivers License"

6. "Teenage Dream"

7. "Pretty Isn't Pretty"

8. "Love Is Embarrassing"

9. "Making the Bed"

10. "Logical"

11. "Enough for You"

12. "Lacy"

13. "Jealousy, Jealousy"

14. "Can't Catch Me Now"

15. "Happier"

16. "Favorite Crime"

17. "Deja Vu"

18. "The Grudge"

19. "Brutal"

20. "Obsessed"

21. "All-American Bitch"

22. "Good 4 U"

23. "Get Him Back!"

Editor's Note: The review has corrected the title of "Get Him Back!"

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or [email protected]. Follow him on X at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Olivia Rodrigo crushes sold-out Fiserv Forum concert in Milwaukee