Sweat Tour at MSG: A Review
On the 23rd of September this year I had the indescribable pleasure of seeing Charli XCX and Troye Sivan perform at their Sweat Tour in Madison Square Garden.
As anyone who doesn’t live under a rock is probably aware of, 2024 has by far been the most successful year for pop star Charli XCX, dubbed “Brat Summer” by her fans and non-fans alike, even borrowed by Vice President Kamala’s social media team for her presidential run. Despite being in the music industry since age 14 and releasing her debut album True Romance in 2013, in addition to her 2014 hit Boom Clap, Charli has had a cult following for years, but never truly broke into the mainstream the way she has this year.
Similarly, Troye Sivan, Charli’s longtime friend and collaborator, has had a long culminating success story that's reached new peaks in the past year. Troye, an Australian native, began his entertainment career both as a child actor and a youtuber in his teen years. After releasing his debut album, Blue Neighborhood (which holds an extremely special place in my heart) in 2015, Troye made the transition from Youtuber to full time pop star. Originally known for his online presence and sentimental lyrics, Troye is now best known for his eye-catching choreographies and provocative lyrics.
Charli and Troye, both arguably underdogs at the beginning of their musical careers, have now together held an immensely successful sold out stadium tour and jointly have 10 Grammy nominations.
I personally have been a fan of Troye since his Youtube days, and spent hours upon hours as a middle schooler obsessing over his debut album. Although I can’t truly say I was a huge fan of Charli’s prior to the Sweat tour and “Brat Summer”, I’m familiar with a few of her songs and have a lot of close friends that are a part of her cult following. Like everyone else, I had Brat on repeat all summer and have been listening to a lot of her discography as of late. I can safely say that I went to the Sweat tour as a huge fan of Troye’s, but left equally as obsessed with Charli.
Unfortunately, I am still under the age of 21 and have not had the pleasure of going to a club in the US. I imagine the Sweat tour is the closest experience I will get to going to the club until I legally can. Normally when I attend concerts I find myself irritated when the people in front of me have their hands up, are filming with their phones super high up, or are obstructing my view in any way. But that night, as Charli constantly screamed at us “PUT YOUR FUCKING HANDS UP!”, more than anything I found myself feeling grateful for the fact that I was sharing the most incredible musical experience ever with the strangers around me. In the moment I remember thinking, this is the very definition of collective effervescence. It felt less like a concert and more like a 20,000 person large party. The title of the tour is more straightforward than I thought; it’s also by far the most physical activity I've ever done at a concert.
Charli’s time on the stage set was energizing and fun, her powerful stage presence filling even the highest up seats in the stadium. Not only was it incredible to hear the album I’ve been listening to on repeat all summer live, but it was also really inspiring to see an artist so deserving and dedicated to their craft in their element. Charli by far had the most electric stage presence I've ever felt at a live show, and the crowd equally matched that energy. Troye put on an equally incredible show with their back to back performances, with his incredible dancers and choreography. Singing a combination of some older, slower songs, and more dancey upbeat ones, I was intermittently crying and having the best time of my life. Not only does he have an incredible voice, but as a fan it’s been amazing to see him grow and develop as an artist. It’s not an exaggeration to say the Sweat Tour might’ve ruined all other concerts for me forever.
The Sweat tour stop in NYC was not complete without the two guests: Addison Rae & Lorde. Addison Rae came out for a performance of her new single Diet Pepsi and her remix of Charli XCX’s Von dutch. I’ve been indifferent to Addison Rae as an artist until now, but after the show I found myself listening to Diet Pepsi and her newest single Aquamarine on repeat. In stark contrast, I've been a huge Lorde fan since I was in middle school and saw her live in 2022. Much to my simultaneous anticipation and disbelief, she came out to perform her remix of Charli’s Girl, so confusing. If it was incredible to witness Charli and Lorde fix their strained relationship through the release of the remix over the summer, as Lorde sang in her verse “and when we put this to bed, the internet will go crazy”, it was pure magic to see them performing it together in front of 20,000 fans in MSG. It’s not an understatement to say I felt like I was witnessing pop culture history in the making that night. Sweat Tour, you will always have a special place in my heart.
