The Olivia Rodrigo concert in Irving achieved the impossible: makes teenagers happy

Jimmy Buffett was renowned for shows that relied on audience interaction but Bubba could not do what Olivia Rodrigo does in her one hour show.

Not only does the young performer hold the attention of thousands of teenagers, but they memorize all of her words to suggest they are capable of more than a B in History.

The audience for a Rodrigo concert sings so loud, and with such eardrum-shattering enthusiasm, for every single lyric that she does not need to hum a note.

On Saturday night at the Toyota Music Factory in Irving, approximately 12,000 of her fans, mostly teenage girls, arrived overdressed and patiently stood in line for 45 minutes to see a performer whose set lasts 60 minutes.

For a generation that is often criticized for their inability to wait for a microwave pastry, the group at the Rodrigo concert displayed the patience of Job.

Exactly no one in the audience cared about the lines to get in, or to buy merch’ (merchandise). They would have waited 45 days to watch the former Disney actress sing “Happy Birthday to You.”

When she sang, “Brutal” they sang (screamed?) right along with her.

They smiled. They jumped. They jumped some more. They filmed almost everything. They screamed.

If you are looking for highlights of the show, check Instagram or TikTok; the whole show was likely already on both social media platforms seconds after it ended.

(For the record: The ONLY reason I attended this concert was to take my 13-year-old daughter in my bid to wrestle away the Father of the Year award away from Kanye West.

(One of the real benefits to attending the show, if you are an adult male, is the short lines for the men’s restroom, and for beer).

Rodrigo is only 19, but she has talent as a performer, singer, and musician. If you’re an Olivia Rodrigo fan, she gives you a plate of Olivia Rodrigo.

If you are the father of an Olivia Rodrigo fan, you won’t be disappointed.

Don’t expect some long set list. She’s a kid.

Give it a few years, and she will likely sell out bigger venues.

“This is so cool,” Rodrigo told the audience after she performed her second song of the night, “Jealousy, jealousy.”

“This is the biggest crowd we’ve played on this tour.”

Tickets on the secondary market for this show suggested Elvis had come back from the dead.

Lawn “seats” were going for as much as $400; actual seats were going for anywhere between $1,000 and $700.

People arrived at 8:30 a.m. to stand in the “pit” next to a stage she took to at 9:20 p.m.

She performed 13 songs, two of which were covers; Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” and No Doubt’s “Just a Girl.”

Rodrigo changed outfits once. She played the guitar. She played the piano.

She chatted with the audience. She warned the audience.

As she was about 30 seconds into performing, “All I want” she stopped.

“Can we stop for a second?” she asked no one in particular. “Can we get some help? Can we take one step back?”

With that the audience in the pit that was crowding, and pushing, towards the stage did as she asked.

It would seem that Rodrigo was mindful of the Travis Scott concert in Houston when 10 people were killed during a crowd surge while he performed his show in November of last year.

Crowd behavior was not a problem on Saturday night.

Once the crowd took a few steps back, she re-started the song from the beginning.

She gave the audience exactly what they wanted, and did her best to identify with her core group.

“I wrote these songs in my bedroom; I wrote them when I didn’t feel good enough,” she told the audience. “I’m 19 and so insecure all the time.”

Her audience didn’t need to hear that, but they devoured the candor.

Then she performed “Enough for you/1 step forward, 3 steps back” and everyone in the place was back to singing right along with her.

About the only problem with Olivia Rodrigo’s show, as far as her audience was concerned, wasn’t the long lines. It’s that it ended.

OLIVIA RODRIGO IRVING SET LIST

1. Brutal

2. Jealousy, jealousy

3. Driver’s license

4. Complicated (Avril Lavigne cover)

5. Hope UR OK

6. Enough for you/ 1 step forward, 3 steps back

7. Happier

8. All I want

9. Just a girl (No Doubt cover)

10. Favorite crime

11. Traitor

12. Deja vu

13. Good 4 u