Olivia Rodrigo’s “The Unraveled Tour” Is a Pretty Flawless Arena Experience

I’ll say it: It’s really hard to dislike Olivia Rodrigo. Shocker, I know, but it turns out — and stay with me on this — that she’s pretty dang good. And with the commercial and critical success of her latest album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, the former Disney star seems to be at the top of her game. So, is it really any surprise that the accompanying tour, her ongoing “The Unraveled Tour,” is as fun, well-crafted, and charming as Rodrigo’s recent output? As showcased Monday night during her second Chicago show, “The Unraveled Tour” is everything you could want from a stadium concert. It’s got big set pieces, big hit songs, and big, noticeably rock-based energy. The star of the show — besides Rodrigo herself, of course — is the production’s art direction. From the top down, each aspect of the concert-going experience feels like it was specifically designed to adhere to an internal logic and contribute to the whole, and it starts before Rodrigo and her band ever step on stage. Walking in, there was a fully built-out activation (with a long, long line), and after openers Wolf Alice closed out their set, instead of generic house music or promotional visuals filling the ...