Friday, Sept. 29 kicked off the start of the Hopeless Fountain Kingdom tour featuring Charli XCX, Party Next Door, and Halsey. This was the second time I’ve seen Halsey in concert (first time being around exactly a year ago at the same venue, Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.) and the first Badlands tour was so good that I had high hopes for this one as well. This was not only the first day of her world tour, but also happened to be Halsey’s birthday.
Getting into the concert I was a little late and came about halfway through Charli XCX’s set. The seats were on the floor and the two floor sections were separated by barricades and a makeshift catwalk on the ground. Charli XCX, known for her top hits, Boys and Boom Clap, put on quite a show and played her songs and a few covers. At one point, she even came down to the crowd and through the catwalk. What was great about our seats was that we were right next to the catwalk so we easily got up against the barricade to see the singers. This got me up close and personal with Charli XCX at a few points during her set as well.
After her, Party Next Door came on next. His set was okay. I’m not a huge fan of the rapper, so I was a little bored during his set but his stage setup and graphics were still interesting to watch. Right after his set however, I saw a man walking past me and everyone started to freak out. I was confused at first, but then realized that it was in fact rapper and Halsey’s current boyfriend, G-Eazy. He stole the show for a little bit, but the real excitement with him came a little later in the show.
Once everything got really quiet, you knew the excitement was just about to start with everyone eagerly awaiting Halsey. She started off the set with her hit song, “Eyes Closed” and played every song on her new album, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, and some throwbacks from her other album Badlands and her first EP, Room 93. She wore some unique outfits and had about five changes throughout her set. The first two outfits she coordinated with the white vs red theme of her two houses she created, Aureum and Angelus, to play off of the Romeo and Juliet theme her new album has. The others were her wearing various Hopeless Fountain Kingdom merch.
What I love about her shows is that she follows a storyline with her concerts, and really puts on an amazing and emotional performance. Her songs “Sorry” and “Is There Somewhere” left Halsey and the crowd in tears. The catwalk came in handy once again for me because I was brought extremely close to the singer where I actually got to touch and hold hands with her during her song “Lie”.
After an amazing first part of the set, the stage became dark and quiet, and all the fans knew something was about to happen. As mentioned before, the day of the concert was Halsey’s birthday. During the silence, a video started to play on the stage and it was small clips of her closest friends and family wishing her a happy birthday. After the video, Halsey was shown, in tears, but the best part was what came next.
G-Eazy cut across stage and gave an amazing speech about his girlfriend: “All of us have one thing in common and that’s how much we f*cking love this person right here. You’re 23 years old and the sh*t you’ve accomplished this young in life; you’re the most hardworking person I ever met. I love you and you inspire the f*ck out of me and amaze me every single day.” Halsey, in tears again, then jumped and embraced her man and they shared a kiss and it was the cutest. Moment. EVER.
After this, she finished her set with so much passion and energy. “Most people say they tune everything out when they get on stage,” she said. “But for me, I live for this. it’s you guys who fuel this.” This is one of the reasons I care and support Halsey so much because she really does care for her fans. Overall, this was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. It was so worth it to be able to experience her first day of the tour and her birthday with her and her other fans.
*Photos by Madison Paloski.