Billie Eilish performs at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. on Dec. 10, 2024. Photos: Henry Hwu.

SAN JOSE — Billie Eilish fans descended on the South Bay on Tuesday night for the first of two sold-out shows at SAP Center. The show was one of Eilish’s last on her globe-trotting Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour dates in North America; she’ll move on to Arizona before finishing in Southern California with a five-night run at the Forum in Inglewood. For this tour, Eilish is playing in the round, with a long rectangular stage splitting the room, lighting columns hanging form the rafters and a large cube at center stage.

The production was somehow both minimalistic and anything but. While the stage was bare, the show’s production seemed to use every inch of space inside the Shark Tank. The laser and spotlights shot up, down, and across the stage, adding both height and depth. There was a plethora of video screens, including two tiny ones on the floor at each end for those standing in the pit. Eilish wore an Oakland A’s hat for most of nearly two dozen tracks over a 100-minute set.

While the majority of the material came from Eilish’s latest, the stellar Hit Me Hard and Soft, her complete discography was represented in some fashion. The crowd exploded into a frenzy when the large cube elevated in the static of the video screen for a fleeting moment to reveal Elish kneeling on the raised platform. She opened on a high note, with spirited versions of “CHIHIRO,” “LUNCH” and “NDA.” Flames shot up from the band pits on each side of the stage as the arena was shrouded in a red hue on the dramatic “Therefore I Am.”

AN in-the-round configuration can be a challenge, especially for a solo performer, given the amount of available real estate to keep fans engaged. Eilish did an excellent job keeping everyone involved, sprinting from corner to corner of the stage to stir up fans.

“Hi guys!” she shouted early on to big cheers. “How’s everybody doing out there? Ready to have some fun?”

Eilish’s fans are known for their vocal prowess, and during some songs got louder than the singer. However, on “when the party’s over,” the 17,000 in attendance achieved the opposite: stone silence.

“This is the only time I’m going to ask you for silence tonight,” Eilish said. “You have to be totally quiet for this to work.”

It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. She then sang the individual parts of the vocal harmony, looping them to create an entire backing track. Her impressive backing quartet flanked her in the trenches built into the stage, along with a pair of backing vocalists. On bouncy hit “bad guy,” Eiish took on supporting role, grabbing a camera, projecting herself and her band on the massive screens.

Billie Eilish performs at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. on Dec. 10, 2024.

Also impressive was how the lighting worked throughout the show. It was all over the place on the energetic songs, but the more mellow ones felt intimate with just a few spotlights to assist. Eilish brought up her singers, Ava and Jane, for a trio of songs, backed only by acoustic guitar.

“There are some of my friends who I love, We’ve been playing and singing together sincere we were wee babies, maybe just around 13,” she said.

Eilish slowed things down for “Your Power,” “SKINNY” and “TV.”

The crowd whipped right back up for “bury a friend” and “Oxytocin, before the room was transformed into a sweaty night club with a rendition of Eilish’s Charli XCX collab “Guess.” Eilish sang that song and “everything I wanted” from a raised stage at one end of the venue floor.

“I will always be here for your and will stand up for you and fight for you,” Eilish said toward the end. “I’ve always got your back and I know you have mine.”

The dramatic “L’AMOUR DE MA VIE” and earnest “What Was I Made For?,” was followed with Eilish playing guitar for a thrilling, albeit shortened rendition of “Happier Than Ever.” Flames shot up as the singer leaned backward, strumming the power chords of the outro. Joyous closer “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” got a big reaction, sending fans home happy.

SoCal quartet The Marias opened the show. Vocalist Maria Zardoya and company blended pop with rock and even jazz. Zardoya stoically but powerfully made her way around the stage while the rest of the band members faced each other in the middle. Some songs were ethereal and dramatic while others were light and fun. The band threw in unreleased track “Back to Me” alongside 10 or so well-worn fan favorites.

“We just released a record called Submarine, this one isn’t on it,” Zardoya said. “We recorded this after we put the album out.”

“I love you all!” Zardoya said in Spanish, before launching into the final track “Cariño.”

The concert included some sustainability services that were scattered throughout the venue. At concession stands, all the food offerings were plant-based. There were water-filling stations throughout. Additionally, Eilish’s tour truck drivers cut their ignition for their concert, while attendees were encouraged to take public transit and visit nearby small businesses that offered vegan products. Caltrain got in on the act by offering a “Billie car,” where riders could win tour merch.

Follow writer Mike DeWald at mikedewald.bsky.social.