Thursday night in downtown Atlanta felt like a tale of two cities in the throes of never-ending traffic. There were dedicated Falcons fans dressed in red-and-black to see the team play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (a game the former won in overtime). Then, there was another swarm of completely different but equally dedicated fans — team brat.
Fans wearing neon green shirts, sparkly miniskirts, tights and black shades also infiltrated downtown, but it had nothing to do with the NFL. This was for a brattier sport. Charli XCX and Troye Sivan brought their exhilarating, club-infused Sweat Tour to Atlanta Thursday night. And they demanded the crowd’s relentless energy.
The co-headlining show resembled a sultry rave that ended entirely too early.
Charli XCX, the U.K. singer who owned the summer with her ubiquitous LP “Brat” and the memes it inspired, hit the stage around 8:30 p.m. For nearly two hours, her and Australian electropop artist Troye Sivan split sets, with each act performing less than four songs before the other returned to the stage. The pacing felt quite odd. After all, Charli XCX is the more notable superstar with a blockbuster album. She commanded the audience with a frenetic, sexually-charged energy that required no backup dancers. The crowd screamed every time she flipped her hair, catwalked on the stage or dropped to the floor to grind.
In fact, I’m convinced that she could’ve just played the “Brat” album in full on a speaker, and she would’ve received the same thunderous enthusiasm from the crowd. Because “Brat” is more than just music. It’s a lifestyle. It’s for the club patrons who dance their way into a hangover without feeling guilty about it and are eager to do it all over again the next day.
Credit: Henry Redcliffe
Credit: Henry Redcliffe
“Did everyone have a brat summer?” Charli XCX asked the crowd later in the show (to which they responded with an emphatic “Yes”).
This isn’t to say that Troye Sivan wasn’t as entertaining. He just had to work more for the momentum. For his performance of “Rager Teenager!,” he swayed along with his backup dancers to deliver a sultry set that mimicked a late-night love connection at a dance club.
The party got hotter as soon as the blaring beats dropped for Charli XCX’s “Club Classics,” a “Brat” fan favorite. Wearing a T-shirt, panties, boots and her signature black shades, she returned to the stage with a beautifully chaotic energy that made her the ultimate cool girl. She looked like she was experiencing an exorcism soundtracked by electronic beats. There was no dancing. Instead, her body became fully immersed in the music as she waved her hair back-and-forth and twirled around.
For “Unlock It,” she twerked her way across the stage — a sight that would’ve made Megan Thee Stallion proud. For “Guess,” she made the stage her personal runway as the crowd yelled with each step she took. For her hit “365,” she flashed her green panties and practically molested the stage, demonstrating how brash and sensual she can get.
Later in the show, Sivan appeared back on stage to perform “1999″ with Charli XCX, which was a nice showcase of the pair’s chemistry, proving they could possibly make a joint album. The crowd went absolutely wild for Icona Pop’s 2012 breakup anthem “I Love It,” which Charli wrote and is featured on.
The peak of Sivan’s sets arrived at the end, during his rendition of “Rush,” a deep house track that could turn up any club. The chorus (“I feel the rush, addicted to your touch”) felt like a chant. It’s one that Sivan took quite literally as he made out with one his dancers on stage. The show’s finale featured the pair performing their latest song “Talk Talk (Remix).”
Credit: Robb Cohen Photography & Video/
Credit: Robb Cohen Photography & Video/
The duo’s Atlanta stop ended a few minutes before 11 p.m., which felt abrupt given the show’s party attitude. I mean, who wants to leave the club at 11 p.m.? However, the artists collaborative spirit and Charli’s total domination of the audience was enough to appease fans.
But don’t get it twisted. “Brat” isn’t quite over. Charli XCX will release a full 16-track album add-on titled “Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat” on Oct. 11. The brat lifestyle is forever.
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