Sweat, Neon, and Chaos: Charli xcx and Troye Sivan in Portland

In a neon-soaked frenzy of bratty anthems and bass-pounding energy, Charli xcx and Troye Sivan brought the SWEAT Tour to Moda Center on October 22nd for the ultimate pop showdown. Words by Bren Swogger

No matter where you were in the summer of 2024, no matter how tuned into social media trends or pop culture you were, you know the word BRAT. Brat took over the world like a tidal wave—first captivating pop fans, then working its way into the cultural zeitgeist, dissected by political pundits on CNN, informing a presidential campaign, and defining the summer vibes for an entire generation (or two).

I’m sure when Charli xcx dropped her now-career-defining 6th album, she never anticipated this level of impact.

But Brat Summer—now Brat Autumn, as we reach the final days of October—has become one of the most defining parts of this year. No album in 2024 has matched its reach or its influence on pop culture.

Brat has been a phenomenon, and now as a front-runner for Album of the Year (and my personal choice), I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to reconnect with Charli and witness her at her peak. A major bonus was that this tour—the SWEAT Tour—offered not just one pop icon, but two, with Charli joined by her friend and “1999” collaborator Troye Sivan. It was a night packed with pop iconography, dance, strobes, thrumming bass, and—true to the tour’s name—sweat. It may have been October, but there was plenty of sweat.

Outside the Moda Center before doors opened, the crowd showed up in their brightest and brattiest fits. Neon green dominated the night, often paired with glittering fishnets, Doc Martens, or sky-high heels. Some took the Brat vibe to the next level—one fan in a full green pantsuit, another dressed as the green M&M. You can’t get brattier than that.

Seeing Brat culture on this massive scale was surreal, especially given Charli’s meteoric rise since the last time I saw her live. It had been six years since I watched her open for Taylor Swift on the Reputation World Tour. Before that, it was 2015, when she co-headlined the Crystal Ballroom with Bleachers to support her second album, Sucker—a Charli xcx from before her PC Music renaissance.

Since then, her self-titled album in 2019 and 2022’s Crash have launched her into the stratosphere of pop futurism, and Brat has only cemented her place. Pop’s future has arrived, and Charli xcx is its herald.

As the lights dimmed and a purple black light washed over the crowd, the neon green in the stands glowed like a mini-golf course. It was time to SWEAT.

Though Charli was clearly the biggest draw of the night (judging by the outfits alone), Troye Sivan deserves his due. It had been a while since I saw Troye perform—last time headlining the Roseland Theater back in 2018 behind his sophomore album Bloom. Even then, Troye was a natural performer. But now, he’s reached a whole new level of star.

Bursting onto the stage with the energy of an entire boyband packed into one shining figure, Troye opened with “Got Me Started,” delivering arena-sized rave energy from the start.

It may have been the second-to-last date on the tour, but you’d never know it from the energy on stage. Troye and his crew of dancers hit every move, ready to sweat. With explosive, perfectly timed choreography, Troye embodied everything a pop show should be.

The crowd was already buzzing and frenzied, but somehow, the night was about to get even wilder.

Charli exploded onto the stage with a monstrous, commanding energy, emerging from behind a massive BRAT-green curtain at the center of the arena. The crowd erupted into pure, adrenaline-fueled chaos. The energy shift—following Troye’s fantastic set—was something I’ve rarely witnessed outside of stadium tours.

Opening with “360,” the crowd’s screams nearly drowned out the music—and the music was LOUD, the bass rattling the rafters in a strobe-fueled visual frenzy. The energy only intensified, surging into “Von Dutch”—what will likely go down as my most-played song this year.

The insanity in the arena during Charli’s set was unreal. The night was a rollercoaster of bass-heavy drops, waves of dance and sweat, and an intense party atmosphere taking over the Moda Center.

For their co-headlining tour, Troye and Charli pulled off something I’d never seen before. Instead of one full set followed by another, they switched off throughout the nearly two-hour show, each performing three or four tracks before the other took the stage. It was a back-and-forth pop showdown, but they weren’t competing. The crowd was at their mercy, and they hit us with a force rarely seen in pop.

Though Troye slowed it down for more downtempo songs like “One Of Your Girls,” Charli’s energy never wavered. During “Club Classics,” Charli strutted across the stage as dancers in a cage below thrashed to the bass. In “Guess,” she slid down the runway on her hands and knees, licking the stage as the camera panned up for a crowd-thrilling view.

Though Charli seemed to set an impossible standard, Troye kept pace, especially during his triple-threat of “Silly,” “You,” and “STUD”—especially “STUD,” which began with a jaw-dropping number in the cage below and culminated in a rave that flowed right into Charli’s “365.”

And when they shared the stage for “1999,” it was electric.

Throughout the night, it was clear that this whole tour was all for them—two best friends, hyping each other up and living their best lives on stage. And we were just lucky enough to be invited.