Concert review: Erotic, euphoric, electrifying – tour’s no ‘Sweat’ for Charli xcx, Troye Sivan
Charli xcx and Troye Sivan perform on stage during their “Sweat” tour at Inglewood’s Kia Forum on Tuesday. The ongoing North American concert trek promotes Charli xcx’s album “BRAT” and Sivan’s album “Something To Give Each Other.” (Courtesy of Henry Redcliffe)
“Sweat”
Charli xcx & Troye Sivan
Kia Forum
Oct. 16
By Reid Sperisen
Oct. 17, 2024 6:06 p.m.
Charli xcx and Troye Sivan’s joint tour is bringing the heat by serving up dozens of club classics.
The co-headlining duo played a second sold-out night of their ongoing “Sweat” tour at Inglewood’s Kia Forum on Wednesday. The North American concert trek began last month and will conclude next week in Seattle – but it was announced in April, before Charli xcx’s “BRAT” had become one of the most viral albums in recent memory. For most of the night, Charli xcx and Sivan alternated between condensed acts, trading off control of the stage to perform two or three songs at a time. Together, the nearly two-hour performance effortlessly transformed the venue – which can seat 17,500 – into a surprisingly intimate, sweat-soaked club environment that was erotic, euphoric and absolutely electrifying.
Following an exuberant opening set by British artist Shygirl, the show began promptly at 8:30 p.m. with Sivan’s song, “Got Me Started.” Accompanied by half a dozen backup dancers and wearing a top with black leather straps, Sivan glided across the stage under orange and blue lights. Sivan sang alone under lavender spotlights during the sensual “What’s The Time Where You Are?” as he jumped with the crowd and delivered longing lines such as, “I’m right on top of this groove / But, God, I wish it was you.” Following these two tracks from 2023’s “Something To Give Each Other,” Sivan invigorated the arena with his 2018 hit “My My My!” by strutting down the stage’s catwalk amid bursts of pink and golden light.
As Sivan departed the stage, a rectangular chartreuse curtain emblazoned with Charli xcx’s “BRAT” album title rose at the end of the stage’s catwalk. When the curtain fell a few seconds later, a blitz of strobe lights marked Charli xcx’s arrival to rabid screams from the crowd. Wearing a bridal veil, black t-shirt and silver boots, the British singer-songwriter was joined by Shygirl to perform “365” before launching into “360.” Her first section concluded with “Von dutch” as she descended into the underbelly of the stage, which included a cage-like design beneath the catwalk, before reemerging on the main stage to pump her fist and remind the audience, “I’m your number one.”
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Without skipping a beat, Sivan reappeared in a white tank top and baggy pair of red shorts for the upbeat “In My Room” and “Dance To This,” laying across a large silver mattress under flashing blue lights for both songs. Pulling the tank top over his head to expose his torso, Sivan stood at a microphone stand and sang his 2020 song “Rager teenager!” Though the track had a noticeably slower tempo, Sivan’s gentle lilt and earnest delivery of lyrics such as “I just wanna lose myself in a crowd” offered a sweet-natured depiction of hedonism that contrasted with the more overtly sexual tones woven throughout the majority of the concert.
Charli xcx’s second appearance was arguably her strongest segment of the night, beginning with the artist leaning from a balcony on the left side of the stage while singing “Club classics.” Donning a crop top, miniskirt, red belt and black boots, she segued to a playful rendition of 2017’s “Unlock it (Lock It)” before dropping to her knees for a passionate take on “Sympathy is a knife.” It was the cheeky “Guess” – which featured Billie Eilish’s verse from the song’s remix playing on the speakers – that might have been her best moment of the evening, as she confidently strode down the catwalk in a beam of lime-green spotlights.
Sivan’s third and fourth sets were only one song each, but they were easily two of the highlights of the entire show. During the former, the Australian singer-songwriter wore an all-black outfit and dedicated 2018’s “Bloom” to his LGBTQ+ fans. The romantic track’s punchy synths were emphasized by a cascade of purple lights that drenched the stage. For the latter set, Sivan wore a cream-colored corset and conical bra – strongly resembling Jean Paul Gaultier’s designs for Madonna’s 1990 “Blond Ambition” world tour – while performing the seductive “One Of Your Girls.” Sivan gyrated and ground against internet personality Vinnie Hacker while two backup dancers performed a chair dance, with the trio then moving to a ballet barre for a synchronized routine.
By comparison, Charli xcx’s third set provided less memorable performances of “Spring breakers” and “Girl, so confusing.” Her fourth segment reclaimed the momentum with a return to the caged area beneath the catwalk for “Everything is romantic” before the ebullient “Barbie The Album” song “Speed Drive.” Ascending to the stage’s right balcony, she encouraged the audience to replicate the viral TikTok choreography for “Apple,” and her brief but jovial conversations with the crowd made for a humorous moment of camaraderie between the artist and her fans.
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One more solo section for each artist – which included a reprise of Charli xcx’s “365” – came before the pair finally teamed up on stage for the main set’s concluding number, their 2018 collaboration “1999.” During an extended outro of the nostalgic track, the duo was lifted into the air by a rising platform as the arena’s pit filled with confetti. Thanks to their chemistry and enthusiasm, “1999” was a more effective end note than the true closer, “Talk talk.”
But before “Talk talk” could end the show, each artist performed two songs as an encore of their solo entries earlier in the night. Charli xcx tore off pieces of her costume during the dramatic “Track 10,” while blue and red strobe lights elevated 2012’s “I don’t care” anthem “I Love It.” Sivan’s last two numbers were more elaborate, with his cowboy hat, bedazzled underwear and cutout pants bringing a more explicitly sexual energy to the line-dancing routine for “Honey.” The penultimate number was Sivan’s Grammy-nominated song “Rush,” which began with a simulation of a keg stand and ended with him passionately kissing a backup dancer.
Throughout the 31-song setlist, it was evident that the pairing of Charli xcx and Sivan was mutually beneficial for both artists’ performance quality. Both artists appeared to have enough time to recover between their segments and repeatedly returned to the stage to dance again with high energy. Whereas Charli xcx made better use of the stage’s various levels amid a consistent pulse of strobe light, Sivan displayed more intricate choreography through styles such as voguing and had greater variation in the lighting paired with his sets.
Regardless of these differences, the true achievement of “Sweat” was its success at capturing the escapist aura brought by a club. Both Charli xcx and Sivan exuded such delight that it seemed the entire crowd was able to become immersed in the lively vibes the concert provided. If there was any area of weakness, it was during the segments where the artists descended into the caged tunnel beneath the catwalk, as it could be difficult to see them for a few minutes at a time. Ultimately, this gripe is fairly negligible when considering the concert’s broader accomplishments and ambitions to transport thousands of attendees to the exhilarating, grimy, sweat-drenched environs of the dance floor.
After such a thrilling night of dance music, it was impossible for fans not to feel the rush.