WORDS BY DREW DRAIN PHOTOS BY HENRY HWU Raleigh’s Lenovo Center was shaking before Billie Eilish even set foot on stage. The second of tw...
WORDS BY DREW DRAIN
PHOTOS BY HENRY HWU
Raleigh’s Lenovo Center was shaking before Billie Eilish even set foot on stage. The second of two sold-out nights of her Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour felt like a celebration and an emotional release all. It was a night where the music wasn’t just heard, but truly felt.
Hours before the doors opened, the parking lot was buzzing with excitement, fans in baggy tees, platform shoes, and neon eyeliner, swapping friendship bracelets and dissecting setlists from the previous night. Kate and Elle, both from the area and back for round two, summed up how deeply Eilish’s songs hit home. “‘Everything I Wanted’ was my favorite song for a long time while I was going through depression,” Kate shared. “It made me feel less alone.” Elle grinned beside her. “‘Happier Than Ever’ is my favorite. It embodies female rage. It’s like therapy when you scream it.”
Further down the lot, David from Smithfield credited his daughter and her friends for introducing him to Eilish. “‘The 30th’ and ‘Wildflowers’ really speak to me,” he said. “Billie and her brother Finneas are musical geniuses. The music and lyrics are thoughtful and well done.”
Twelve-year-old Isabel from Chapel Hill, wearing a Billie Eilish tour shirt purchased at the prior night’s performance, couldn’t contain her excitement. “My favorite song is ‘Birds of a Feather,’ because it makes me happy!” she said, clutching her dad’s hand. “My dad is awesome and should get the Best Dad award for bringing me twice!”
Mandy and Maggie had driven all the way from Virginia Beach for the Friday show. “The traffic was miserable,” Maggie laughed, “but so worth it.” Her favorite track? “‘Bad Guy.’ It’s just the vibes.” Mandy smiled and added, “‘Male Fantasy.’ It’s the message for me.”
Inside, the show kicked off with Puerto Rican artist Young Miko, whose reggaeton and Latin trap set lit up the crowd early. A few songs in, fans were already tossing bras onto the stage, first a red one, then a black one, which Miko pocketed with a grin. They dangled from her pants for most of her set. The crowd was more than ready for Billie.
As the lights dimmed and the sound of static filled the arena, a glowing white cube appeared center stage, flickering and humming like something alive. The tension built until flashes of light revealed Billie’s silhouette inside. Then, as the opening notes of “CHIHIRO” rippled through the speakers, she rose to the top of the cube, bathed in a strobe of icy blue and soft white. The crowd’s reaction was instantaneous with 20,000 screams collapsing into a single roar of welcome.
One of the night’s most impressive feats came just as the last notes of "WILDFLOWER" were still hanging in the air. Somehow, she managed to get 20,000 people dead silent long enough to hear her every breath. It was a masterclass in control. Billie used the quiet space to create a live vocal loop, building it layer by layer until it became the haunting introduction to “When the Party’s Over.”
From there, Eilish never lost control of the energy. She darted from one end of the stage to the other, her movement pure adrenaline. Every gesture, every jump, every grin seemed to pull the crowd closer. During “Bad Guy,” she grabbed a handheld camera and flipped between an up-close selfie view and her own POV, giving everyone in the arena the surreal sensation of being part of her performance.
The production was sleek but never distracting, deep crimson for “Oxytocin,” cool blue for “Everything I Wanted,” bright gold for “Birds of a Feather.” The extended outro of “Oxytocin” was one of the night’s standout moments, the bass rattling the rafters while the crowd pulsed in time, screaming along to every word.
Eilish briefly moved to the “B” stage for “Guess” (her collaboration with Charli XCX) and a shortened “Everything I Wanted.” From there, she took a full lap around the barricade, slapping hands and grinning as fans reached out in disbelief. Cameras followed her beneath the stage as she disappeared, revealing the crew below waving and laughing on the big screen. It was a human moment that made the entire production feel even more intimate.
The emotional arc of the night peaked with “Happier Than Ever.” The crowd screamed every word of the final verse, cathartic, furious, and free. But just when it seemed the night couldn’t rise higher, those opening chords of “Birds of a Feather” floated through the arena. The response was explosive. Every single person was standing, dancing, and singing, a sea of joy reflected in Billie’s face as she sang through the final chorus with a smile that said everything.
By the end of the night, confetti sparkled in the air, lights dimmed to a soft gold glow, and Billie waved goodbye, sweaty, smiling, spent, and real. The crowd lingered, not wanting the night to end.
For one night in Raleigh, Billie Eilish turned the Lenovo Center into a world of her own, a space where darkness and joy could coexist, where pain could find rhythm, and where thousands of strangers could scream the same words and feel a little less alone.
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- DREW DRAIN
Andrew (Drew) Drain is originally from Point Pleasant, WV, and he now resides in Chapel Hill, NC with his daughter. Drew works as a financial risk management professional to pay the bills, but his real passion is photography. He started taking photos of his daughter playing soccer as a way to resist the urge to coach her from the sidelines. Time behind the camera developed into a love for photography that he has paired with his love for sports and live music. Follow Drew’s Instagram, @Drew.Drain.Photo or his MaxPreps galleries, to check out more of his work or contact him if you need photos of your favorite athlete or performer.
Read Drew's posts here.
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