Live Review: Billie Eilish, Okenyo

Slipping into the Howler bandroom on a restless, summery Thursday night the median age of the crowd is a good five to ten years older than the 16-year-old headliner, which is testament to the maturity of songwriting on offer tonight.

Okenyo unceremoniously takes the stage, replete with navy-blue nylon jacket, two back-up dancers/singers and a DJ donning jewelled headphones. She briskly works up a warm, positive energy with daggy banter and unending smiles throughout the treacle-like first half of her set. Some subtle choreography with the back-up singers helps to break up the songs as she moves through various single releases and her 2016 EP 10 Feet Tall. A 30-second cover of James Brown's It's A Man's Man's Man's World abruptly morphs into her 2017 single Woman's World, flipping Brown's now-oft-maligned lyrics to, "It's a woman's world". Her show feels warm and fuzzy like a hug from a bestie and it will be interesting to track her ascent through this galvanising current phase of forward-thinking female Australian MCs.

Billie Eilish's drum tech looks kinda like her brother Finneas O'Connell without hair product, but the shorts and scuffed Adidas sneakers give him away (it can't be him). As the real O'Connell and Eilish's drummer eventually clandestine-enter the stage dressed in all-white, like a P Diddy video clip, the opening vocal samples run from her 2017 single Bellyache and the show kicks up three gears. Oozing sultry cool and dressed head to toe in very-late-2010s camo, it's clear to see Eilish could and should start a fashion label (or at the very least a capsule collection) with Supreme. All her merchandise sells like hotcakes, in tradie-chic orange, fluoro green, red and white. Now, as her and the band weave through the first batch of songs, the capacity crowd sirens word for word for the whole set. 

Eilish's hook-writing is superb and her vocals flutter over the top of these songs like alpine water on riverbeds. By the third song her brother manoeuvres out from behind his keys and laptop to dance some choreographed spins, the familial connection strong and unwavering. Handling most of the production side of Eilish's sound, O'Connell also has a clear ear for simple, cutting sound design and makes full use of the sub frequencies from speakers in the room. After he croons and snarls through a bluesy song, on lead vocals, Eilish sways back on stage with a ukulele 'round her neck to serenade the rapturous crowd with a sing-songy cover of Drake's Hotline Bling. Yes, it works. And, yes, her breathy and waif-like voice complements the original song's pining-yet-deadpan vocal delivery. This segues into a dial tone and voicemail message, with an enthusiastic girl in the crowd shrieking, "Oh my god, I love this song!" through the dead silence. The morbid and melancholy pace of her show IS reminiscent of Drake's live spectacle, but with fewer "You over there, girl" shout-outs, more shoulder shrugs and, "If you want a good girl, then goodbye".

Eilish comes across as much more warm-hearted and responsive in a live setting than some of her interviews suggest, which bodes well for this immensely gifted young artist. Every eye in the room is trained on her as she ploughs and bounces through the grand finale that is Copycat and as fans stream out into the night one can't help but think that if she keeps the Eilish train rolling, the stars will continue to align themselves for her.