LIVE REVIEWS
Not a single seat is vacant in New York’s legendary Madison Square Garden. ‘Brat’ summer might be over, but the sardine-packed arena is still speckled with hints of its representative colour, lime green. Tonight, Miss 365 party girl herself Charli XCX and Troye Sivan are taking over the city that never sleeps with their back-to-back joint headlining show as part of their US-only ‘Sweat’ tour, and NYC is showing up accordingly.
As the lights dim to signal the start of this cultural moment, a montage of XCX and Sivan plays on the two big screens, and a slow, robotic voice says: “When I go to the club, I want to hear those club classics.” Moments later, as Sivan’s backup dancers emerge on stage, the pop boy of the hour has one question he needs answering. “New York City, oh my god, are you ready to fucking sweat?” he asks before kicking the night off with a vivacious performance of ‘Got Me Started’ featuring his viral dance moves and sensual mic positioning, driving the whole arena crazy.
After Sivan runs through the pulsing ‘What’s The Time Where You Are?’ and ‘My My My’, providing a masterclass in electrifying stage presence, a plethora of strobes begin flickering across the venue. A green curtain falls from MSG’s ceiling, forming a box around the end of the stage, ‘Brat’ printed on each side. The lime cube doesn’t stay up for long, dropping to the floor to reveal XCX in its middle, from where she breaks into the ‘365’ remix with Easyfun and Shygirl, the latter of whom joins her onstage as both artists dance wildly along to the track like they’re in the club rather than on stage at MSG.
XCX and Sivan spend the night seamlessly transitioning from each other’s acts. The latter impressively belts out the likes of ‘One Of Your Girls’ and ‘Rager Teenager!’, and dances through his exquisite choreography with the same magnetic pull of some of the pop icons who’ve come before him, like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Lady Gaga.
Witnessing two stars at the top of their game would be more than enough of a present, but tonight, the two stars come bearing yet more gifts for the sold-out crowd. As the beginning of Spears’ ‘Everytime’ starts playing, Addison Rae appears to perform her latest viral track ‘Diet Pepsi’ with XCX and Sivan assisting her on vocals. After, she and XCX take things up a notch for a rowdy rendition of their ‘Von Dutch’ remix.
The surprises don’t stop there. After changing her outfit from a white corset and a denim miniskirt into a strapless nude dress with a brown fur coat and heels, XCX launches into ‘Girl, so confusing’. At the other end of the catwalk, Lorde appears dressed in a matching outfit, ready to “work it out on the remix” IRL. As the pair sing, “‘Girl, you walk like a bitch’ / When I was ten, someone said that,” they strut down the runway, transforming the venue into the hottest fashion show on Earth.
“How’s this sold-out arena feeling?” XCX asks during the middle of the show.“ I never really saw this for myself, but bitch, we proved them wrong motherfucker!” During her time on stage tonight, XCX goes one further and justifies why so many fans have been vying to see her. She dominates the room by herself in a way that’s reminiscent of Freddie Mercury during Queen’s legendary Live Aid performance. He was able to command a crowd without uttering a single word and the British pop star wields the same power here.
Both Sivan and XCX have spent time as pop’s underdogs – niche at the start of their respective careers but, in hindsight, always ahead of the game. As they wrap up the night with performances of their collaborations ‘1999’ and the ‘Talk Talk’ remix, it’s clear that they’ve both not just mastered their craft but are now getting the recognition they deserve. ‘Brat’ summer might be over, but these two are just getting started.
Charli XCX and Troye Sivan played:
Troye Sivan:
‘Got Me Started’
‘What’s the Time Where You Are?’
‘My My My!’
Charli XCX:
‘365 remix with easyfun and shygirl’ (with Shygirl)
‘360’
‘Von dutch’
Troye Sivan:
‘In My Room’
‘Dance to This’
‘Rager teenager!’
Charli XCX:
‘Club Classics’
‘Unlock It’
‘Sympathy is a knife’
‘Guess featuring Billie Eilish’
Troye Sivan:
‘Bloom’
Charli XCX:
‘Spring Breakers’
‘Diet Pepsi’ (with Addison Rae)
‘Von dutch a.g. cook remix featuring Addison Rae’ (with Addison Rae)
‘Girl, so confusing featuring lorde’ (with Lorde)
Troye Sivan:
‘One of Your Girls’
Charli XCX:
‘Everything is romantic’
‘Speed Drive’
‘Apple’
Troye Sivan:
‘Silly’
‘You’
‘STUD’
Charli XCX:
‘365’
‘Vroom Vroom’
Charli XCX & Troye Sivan:
‘1999 (EASYFUN remix)’
Charli XCX:
‘Track 10’
‘I Love It’ (Icona Pop cover)
Troye Sivan:
‘Honey’
‘Rush’
Charli XCX & Troye Sivan:
‘Talk Talk featuring Troye Sivan’
LIVE REVIEWS
“I received plenty of comments saying it was far too soon to ‘go solo’,” Geese frontman Cameron Winter told NME last year while reflecting on how people initially reacted to his decision to branch out on his own. “Most likely because a lot of folks assume that ‘solo albums’ only happen once a band has passed its peak and that they usually feel like uninspired cash grabs.”
Honestly, everyone is trying to earn a living however they can these days, yet no one expected a Geese side project to generate any real financial payoff in 2024. “Just so you know,” he went on, “my solo album is different: because barely anyone knows my band, I am young and comfortable living with my parents and I have the freedom to follow any ideas that interest me.”
Brooklyn indie followers and former NME cover stars Geese were gaining real momentum when their second album ‘3D Country’ mixed cowboy psychedelia with a jazzy, art-punk energy that had already captured the attention of many UK 6 Music dads back in 2023, but who could have predicted what came next? Geese have become one of the most talked-about bands of 2025 and are expected to dominate multiple end-of-year lists with the ambitious and full-range rock of ‘Getting Killed’. Yet the moment that set the stage for this rise was Winter’s Lou Reed-inspired debut solo record ‘Heavy Metal’.
A handful of late-night US television appearances and a spot on Jools Holland acted as a welcoming doorway for the world to see what this 23-year-old can do far beyond what many twice or three times his age are capable of. Now the sold-out Roundhouse audience made up of indie teens, art school regulars, fans who traveled across Europe and seasoned listeners reacts with a collective breath as a slight opening in the stage curtain reveals the silhouette of Winter seated at a piano. First comes a spark of excitement, then a sudden hush.
There is no flashy social media moment, no chatter overriding the music and almost no sea of raised phones. There is a sincerity to how the night unfolds. The Geese singer barely turns toward the audience. “Turn around!” someone calls out from the balcony at one stage. “Is this not enough for you all?” Winter teases back. For some, maybe it was more than enough. At least four people appear to faint around the warm and crowded Roundhouse while the room stands in absolute focus as Winter moves through the dreamlike storytelling of ‘Try As I May’, the emotional swirl of ‘The Rolling Stones’, the bright lift of ‘Love Takes Miles’ and the sermon-like stomp of ‘Nausicaä (Love Will Be Revealed)’. When he reaches the intense and spiritually charged ‘$0’, even the most skeptical hipster might be convinced that “I’m not kidding, God is actually real”. In that moment, it feels as though we all understand.
The entire performance can be summed up in how ‘Drinking Age’ unfolds. It starts softly with a gentle touch on the keys before erupting into a thunderous attack on the Steinway that could echo into next year, followed by a long, open cry aimed toward the sky. Winter somehow manages to blend something minimal with something enormous, something grounded with something cosmic, a delicate approach that hits with staggering force as he reaches toward ideas of existence, heaven, hell and everything surrounding them.
Winter could recite the phone book and still leave a crowd stunned. He carries the spirit of a post-punk Rufus Wainwright you can play alongside The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys, a Gen Z Tom Waits for listeners exhausted by TikTok overload, a new Nick Cave who arrives at exactly the moment he is needed. His voice feels older than his years yet perfectly suited to express the concerns and emotions of his own generation.
We will continue praising Geese endlessly because they deserve it. They are an extraordinary burst of musical creativity that goes far beyond what their lineup would ever imply, and along with Fontaines D.C., they are poised to become one of the decade’s essential bands. Still, tonight offers something quieter and more intimate. Cameron Winter stands completely on his own power, talent and magnetism, proving himself a rising force who can hold an entire room with only his voice, a piano and an entire future waiting for him.
‘Try as I May’
‘Emperor XIII in Shades’
‘The Rolling Stones’
‘Love Takes Miles’
‘Drinking Age’
‘Serious World’
‘Nausicaä (Love Will Be Revealed)’
‘If You Turn Back Now’
‘Vines’
‘Nina + Field of Cops’
‘$0’
‘Take It With You’
‘Cancer of the Skull’
