I Saw Olivia Rodrigo Live & I'll Never Be the Same

GUTS Tour and a ranking of the album--I'm obsessed!

Last week I went to Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS Tour, and this also happened to be the first time I went to a concert solo. I think live music can be so changing of an experience. I feel like there are not many group experiences that can create this unity in one place. Maybe sporting events could be comparable, but I don’t take part in that as regularly as concerts. 

Anyway, live music, the best. I try to make it a priority in my spending habits, but I would also say I can be pretty choosy when it comes down to it (especially because tickets are not cheap these days--how I do miss 50$ tickets). When Olivia had her Sour tour, I was too late to get tickets that were not outrageously priced, being about the time concerts were back on after covid and Olivia having the massive success of ‘Driver’s License’ and ‘Deja Vu’. So when GUTS was announced, and I had already had the album on repeat, I was not going to miss it. 

I didn’t really know anyone that listened to her, so I decided to just go alone because really I wasn’t going to not go. And actually going alone wasn’t too bad of a time! It was pretty good actually. I mean most of us are there to have a good time and listen to good music. There was some concert etiquette that I could address, but honestly, I feel like that could be a separate post and I really just want to talk about the good stuff this time.

I arrived about an hour before the show started. Sadly, I was one of the dates that PinkPantheress was supposed to open on, but since she canceled all her dates we didn’t have an opener. The show started a little after 8 pm and kicked off strong. I think GUTS is a fantastic album and I like nearly every song (decided to rank in order from the album if interested).

I thought Olivia was a great performer and for as early in her career as she is I think she’s going to only get better from here. She had such a fun stage persona, and you could just feel that she was so happy to be here. I thought her crowd banter was playful and not too long. She had cute stories to share (like how she once claimed to the director of her show that she needed to pee so bad she had to get off the set right that second when actually she was going to write down the first parts of a song). 

She had the corny segues that many artists have in their sets, like when she gets a hat from an audience member and waving it in front of her bass player she asks “are you jealous??” before breaking out into ‘Jealousy, Jealousy’ but we like a little corniness because it’s endearing!

Like her albums she bounces around on all things girlhood and becoming/being a woman. In one song she’s singing about pretty never being enough while her dancers swirl around her in a kind of synchronized swimming routine without the pool and the next she’s writhing on the floor overcome with desire to know her boyfriend’s ex. Both scenes explore all the ways in what it’s like to be women because what a wide spectrum womanhood is and who starts to see that more than a 21-year-old pop star.

I had the best time screaming (at an appropriate volume and time because I am a considerate concert attendee) and singing along. I live to dance at concerts listening to my favorite artist perform some of my favorite songs. I can’t wait for more from Olivia Rodrigo!!

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GUTS Song Ranking

Ok, now a definitive breakdown of GUTS. Also, to note, as a person I am generally more into upbeat songs on an album. I lean toward those more because I prefer to jam and less to be somber, though time and place for all things.

girl I’ve Always been, scared of my guitar, stranger

I honestly have not spent that much time with these so I don’t feel it’s fair to include them in my ranking. They were not played at the concert and I tend to focus more on the setlist because I want to know all the songs and every word because if I’m not singing along at the concert, I’m probably bored.

logical

Probably my least favorite on the album. I will skip it most times. The melody is a little off for me and the vocals nor lyrics redeem it for me. 

vampire

When this was  the first single before the albums release I was like ok, not bad, I can fuck with this. But honestly, now that I know the rest of the album, it just isn’t as good. And personally, I would never think this song is about Taylor Swift, it just doesn’t make sense in this case--though that is very much me speculating.

lacy

It’s too slow and it just doesn’t do it for me. There are some pretty lyrics, like I love using ‘puff pastry’ as a comparison and ‘Bardot reincarnate’ is also vivid. But overall too slow for me.

making the bed

For a slower song, this is pretty good. I wouldn’t put it as a skip and I love how reflective it is. I feel like it explores the contradictions of things happening to you and yet maybe you’ve been doing things (or nothing) to make it that way. I love seeing an artist’s introspection and it’s still relatable. 

 so american

It’s cute, it’s catchy, it’s fun. But that’s about it for me. 

the grudge

There’s no way this isn’t about Taylor Swift (Crystal’s opinion) and I think it’s a fantastic ballad of sorts. It’s expressive and who hasn’t wished they could write a great song about someone who’s done them wrong that turns out this good.

pretty isn’t pretty

Another exploration of being a girl in an image-obsessed world. Relatable, if a bit simple, but catchy and empowering. It does all of what Olivia does best.

Ok, we are now getting into territory of really favorite songs that become tougher to rank for me. Nearly all the rest are interchangeable for me, but I will do my best to stick to ranking. 

get him back!

How can you not love this song with its clever lyrics and the little TikTok dance (because I love a song that can easily be choreographed into dance moves by acting out the lyrics, see below example). It’s so fun!! 10/10

@livbedumb @livbedumb ♬ get him back! - Olivia Rodrigo

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ballad of a homeschooled girl

The lyric of “So I guess I should go, the party's done, and I'm no fun, I know, I know” and when she progressively yells “I KNOW” just like scratches by brain in the best way, like the song is a no skip because of this one lyric. It's just a bonus that everything else is so good. And as someone who was an awkward Mormon girl, which I feel like is a homeschooled girl’s religious cousin, it’s very relatable to young me.

bad idea right?

God this song is just another hit for me. Such fun lyrics, easy to blast in the car. The bouncing around of different tempos and perfect mixture of experiences in lyrics, it’s a perfect song for me.

all-american bitch

I would probably put this as my instant #1 when GUTS first came out. It’s the perfect opener of an incredible album. I love women taking ownership of Bitch all the time, I love the sarcasm of being a perfect woman (built like a mother and total machine, sun in my motherfucking pocket--perfect lyrics! perfect!) I love this song. I love it.

teenage dream

I will almost always cry at this song (and in a first, definitely shed a tear at the concert with this one). It is so beautiful and the repetition of ‘they say it gets better the more you grow’ is a perfect capture of growing up--heartbreaking because in some ways it doesn’t get better but the chanting of it seems to scream it into existence. This is just a special song.

obsessed

I know it’s kind of funny that after picking a beautiful, meaningful song like ‘teenage dream’ one would then have this song as their #1, but I don’t care about the logic this is song is fucking good. It’s so crazy and I love it. This was by far my favorite performance of the night. This is on a pump up playlist, sing in the car, dance the fuck up song for me. It is my #1 and thank you Olivia for bringing this into my life.

Ok, that’s all of the Olivia/GUTS writing for now. If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably related to me or just as crazy about OR as me. Either way thanks for making it this far and let me know your GUTS rankings (I will accept if you disagree with my rankings, but you still might be wrong ;) )