An hour before the doors opened, the line to see upcoming electropop artist, Halsey, at the Gothic Theatre had long surpassed the length of the block. This show, one of the countless sold out shows on the Badlands Tour, has been long anticipated by people of all ages, from all over Colorado.
After the doors were opened and attendees crammed their way into Englewood’s most popular concert venue, the night began with the opening act, Flor, taking the stage. Hailing from Portland Oregon, Flor riled the previously calm crowd.
After their set and a few short minutes to change out instruments and props, it was time for Halsey to take the stage. She started with a bang, preforming the song “Gasoline” from the deluxe version of her first studio album. She flew through the first five songs, stopping before “Roman Holiday” to thank the crowd for the warm welcome and to stress that she would not allow the high altitude to stop her from giving the crowd the best show she could.
During the final chorus of her eighth song, “Drive” Halsey changed the lyrics to incorporate Colorado, chanting, “And Colorado never felt like home to me, until I came here and played this show.”
Halsey continued to knock songs out one by one. As she reached a fan favorite, “Ghost,” she admitted that she would pretend to forget the lyrics to the spoken word piece at the beginning because she enjoyed hearing the crowd sing her song. She said that she had done this about a hundred times before her fans began to call her out.
It was obvious that the crowd was enjoying themselves. One member was Facetiming a crying friend who was unable to attend in person, trying to let them in on the amazing experience. Another audience member proclaimed that this was the best birthday he has ever had.
Before her single, “Hurricane,” Halsey gave a small monologue, stating, “It doesn’t matter who you are; if you’re a boy, girl, mom, dad, brother, sister. You don’t belong to anybody.”
She introduced her final song, the radio hit “New Americana” as a testament to the fact that pop culture creates diversity. With red and blue lights flooding the stage, an homage to her song “Colors”, and confetti falling from the sky, Halsey made sure to end the night with a bang.
As the stage went dark, the crowd chanted her name endlessly, begging for an encore. Halsey finally retook the stage, preforming “Young God.” During this final song, the stage was overpowered by a bright white light and the crowd was singing along louder than before.
As Halsey left the stage for the final time that night and light returned to the venue, the crowd continued to buzz with a feeling that linger for a long time.