{"id":316228,"date":"2026-08-07T18:52:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T18:52:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/316228\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T18:52:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T18:52:42","slug":"olivia-rodrigo-surprise-brooklyn-show-5-best-moments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/316228\/","title":{"rendered":"Olivia Rodrigo Surprise Brooklyn Show: 5 Best Moments"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWhen news broke Thursday (Aug. 6) morning that Olivia Rodrigo<\/a> was playing Brooklyn\u2019s Warsaw \u2014 a ballroom-style punk venue nestled in Greenpoint with a capacity of about 1,100 \u2014 that very evening, it took less than 30 minutes for the line to start winding around the block as fans biked, Uber-ed and quite literally ran to get in line for tickets, which had to be purchased IRL at the box office. While the venue has played host to plenty of musical legends (Jack White, L7, Stiff Little Fingers, the Prophets of Rage supergroup) over the years, it\u2019s not often a pop star in the midst of their imperial phase performs a one-off underplay like this. (Sam Smith did play Warsaw last winter, but fans had 24 nights to catch them during their residency.)<\/p>\n

\n\tThe hourlong wait for tickets in the brutal 80-some-degree heat was beyond worth it. Ahead of her Unraveled Tour kickoff<\/a> in Hartford, Conn., on Sept. 25, Rodrigo and her band ripped through 15 songs in 62 sweaty, breathtaking minutes, delivering three of her four Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s (\u201cGood 4 U,\u201d \u201cDrop Dead\u201d and \u201cdrivers license\u201d) and nine of the 13 songs from You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, her latest (and perhaps best so far) album, which topped the Billboard 200 for two weeks.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThank you for coming, thank you for waiting in the heat,\u201d Rodrigo told the packed crowd at the top of her set, which opened with a one-two punch of \u201cDrop Dead\u201d and \u201cu + me = <3\u201d and wrapped with a \u201cd\u00e9j\u00e0 vu\u201d singalong.<\/p>\n

\n\tHere are five standout moments from the three-time Grammy winner\u2019s intimate, hard-rocking Warsaw show.<\/p>\n

\tPlaying Favorites<\/p>\n

\n\tRodrigo introduced the hushed, self-lacerating \u201cThe Cure\u201d as her \u201cfavorite\u201d song on her new album \u2013 a pick that we couldn\u2019t agree with more, given our editorial staff named it the best song<\/a> of 2026 so far in a recent midyear list.<\/p>\n

\n\tAside from revealing new depths to Rodrigo\u2019s songwriting, \u201cThe Cure\u201d in concert showed off new shades of her voice \u2013 strong and commanding yet vulnerable and pained. A standout on the album, \u201cThe Cure\u201d was arguably the highlight of the show, with the crowd watching her in hushed, rapt silence. \u2013 Joe Lynch<\/p>\n

\tA Deep Cut in Brooklyn<\/p>\n

\n\tRodrigo announced that she wanted to perform a deep cut she doesn\u2019t usually sing live, prompting audible gasps from the audience as everyone tried to guess what was coming next. \u201cI was singing this myself, and it\u2019s important to \u2018The Cure\u2019,\u201d she said before revealing the song: \u201cMaking the Bed.\u201d The moment felt deeply emotional from the start.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMaking The Bed\u201d was released off of her 2023 hit album GUTS. As Rodrigo started to play the piano, the entire room in Greenpoint sang softly along with her, knowing every word. Many fans were very surprised by the unexpected song choice, making the intimate performance even more special.\u00a0\u2013Kristen Wisneski<\/p>\n

\tBuzz Cut<\/p>\n

\n\tBefore performing \u201cHoneybee,\u201d Olivia shared a few words about the song, explaining that it was inspired by the 1999 romcom Notting Hill and holds a special place in her heart. She recalled writing it unusually quickly and said hearing the finished track for the first time brought her to tears because it so perfectly reflected how she was feeling in that moment.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor the Brooklyn pop-up, the performance featured a more understated arrangement, letting the song\u2019s heartfelt lyrics shine while the audience\u2019s voices naturally became part of the performance.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs Olivia delivered the verses, the venue fell nearly silent, with the audience absorbing every lyric before breaking into a powerful singalong on the chorus. The shared moment underscored the song\u2019s emotional resonance and quickly became one of the evening\u2019s standout performances. \u2013 K.W.<\/p>\n

\tThe Right \u2018Idea\u2019<\/p>\n

\n\tRodrigo\u2019s unabashed ode to bad romantic decision-making was probably the hard-rocking highlight in a night full of them (though \u201cGood 4 U\u201d and \u201cExpectations\u201d were killer, too). \u201cBad Idea Right?\u201d is just delirious pop-punk fun, and in a venue like Warsaw that\u2019s hosted countless punk artists over the years, it felt like a perfect fit \u2013 and had the audience pogo jumping like the intimate Greenpoint venue was Warped Tour for a minute. \u2013 J.L.<\/p>\n

\t\u2018Stupid\u2019 Good<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis next song is from my new album,\u201d Rodrigo said prior to the third song in her setlist. \u201cI wrote it in New York \u2014 it\u2019s sort of about liking someone so much it makes you kind of go insane. We\u2019ve all been there, right?\u201d she asked, to which the crowd roared agreement. As she began playing \u201cStupid Song,\u201d it was abundantly clear that Rodrigo and her band are ready for that tour, segueing between soft, subdued moments and anthemic choruses in musical lockstep.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNew York City\u2019s never looked so blue\u201d is the first lyric in the song, and as the audience filtered out into the NYC night over an hour later, the sky, fittingly, was glowing a dark hue of blue. \u2013 J.L.<\/p>\n

\t


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