Olivia Rodrigo is really taking this indie rock shit seriously. It's not enough to perform with basically every remaining '90s alt-rock legend, including, just last weekend, the Smashing Pumpkins. It's not enough to continually namecheck the Cure, to the point that she's got a Robert Smith duet on her excellent new album you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. It's not enough to cover CMAT and book Grace Ives and Die Spitz as tour openers. These days, Rodrigo is taking things even further, launching a Bandcamp page and playing the same small-ish Brooklyn venue where I saw the Hold Steady I don't know how many times. The next thing you know, she'll be moving into a Philly loft with five roommates and a serious black mold problem.
On Thursday night, Olivia Rodrigo played a surprise last-minute show at Warsaw, a 1,100-capacity room on the border of Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Amazing venue. You can get really good pierogis there, and now the pierogi ladies are apparently selling their own merch. Rodrigo's upcoming tour is insanely sold-out, to the point where the NBA and NHL arenas where she's playing are arguably too small and she should level up to stadiums instead, so this Warsaw show was a really small one for her.
Rodrigo announced the show at 10 a.m. yesterday, just as tickets went on sale. It was reportedly very, very sweaty. Rodrigo taped an Austin City Limits episode last week, but it hasn't aired yet, so the fan videos from last night are our first look at the live debuts for new tracks like "my way," "u + me = <3," "maggots for brains," and the towering "expectations."
Also, it's Bandcamp Friday, and Rodrigo has a Bandcamp page now! The link was apparently airdropped to fans at Warsaw last night. She launched the site by releasing the "happy version" of "purple," another of the new songs she played live last night, and proceeds reportedly go to her Daisy Chain Fields fund. Below, check out that track and some footage from last night.
SETLIST:
01 "my way"
02 "drop dead"
03 "u + me = <3"
04 "stupid song"
05 "bad idea, right?"
06 "maggots for brains"
07 "begged"
08 "purple"
09 "vampire"
10 "less"
11 "honeybee"
12 "drivers license"
13 "the cure"
14 "cigarette smoke"
15 "expectations"
16 "deja vu"
A few days ago, Rodrigo also called Donald Trump out for Planned Parenthood closures.
