Billie Eilish means business in solid solo tour at the United Center

The tour promoted its latest album of the same name at the United Center for the first of two nights on Wednesday, and over the course of 100 hypnotic minutes, the electro-pop star had a frenzied crowd jumping on their feet or crying their eyes out. , depending on the song.

“It’s been a tough week for all of us,” Eilish said to launch into the incredibly moving “Your Power.” The song’s message of “try not to abuse it” quickly took on new meaning tonight, delivered just one week after America’s polarizing election results. Parties in the crowd also had loaded reactions, half of them sobbing during the song, another part shouted “f – – – Trump.”

“I don’t even want to go into it, I just want to say you’re safe in this room,” Eilish added, pausing for a long time as if she might change her mind. “I just want to play it.”

The song needed no extra oratorical detail as Eilish exercised her lyrical eloquence through her soulful delivery, performed while perched on a stool, strumming an acoustic guitar and flanked by a pair of backup singers. The gravity of the moment was only matched when she performed the Oscar-winning “Barbie” monologue “What Was I Made For?” later in the set when the water works came back on.

Within minutes, however, there was a necessary release as Eilish followed up the somberness of “Your Power” with a beat-busting club overture of “Bury A Friend,” “Oxytocin” and “Guess,” the steamy collaboration with Charli XCX .

If that sounds like neurotic whiplash, it wasn’t. There was a higher order to the night that prevented any sense of staleness in a 22-song set. That’s the beauty of Eilish’s dimensional talent: She can be serious when she needs to be, and funny when she wants to be, and own both roles — just as good at playing “Bad Guy” as Barbie.

Many of the elements of Eilish’s latest tour are familiar hallmarks from her stadium shows and Lollapalooz appearances from the last five-ish years, including a long, linear stage where she can speed across. A beauty standard outfit of boyish, baggy shorts and a sports jersey (flamboyantly imitated by dozens of teenagers wearing their own Chicago Bulls gear). was complemented by a refreshing humility and positive use of her platform for the greater good.