Charli XCX throws a Brat party at Brooklyns Barclays Center: review

What a difference a year makes for Charli XCX.This time a year ago, the Brit “It Girl” was a month shy of releasing her “Brat” album that would lead to a “Brat summer” that made her a pop-culture phenomenon.Twelve years after her debut LP, 2013’s “True Romance,” she was a breakout pop star in her early 30s — middle age in pop years — doing collabs with Billie Eilish, appearing on “Saturday Night Live” and getting seven Grammy nominations, including a prestigious Album of the Year nod.Nearly three months after winning three of those Grammys — including Best Dance/Electronic Album for “Brat” and Best Dance Recording for “Von dutch” — the 32-year-old singer headlined the first of four sold-out shows at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Wednesday.After a co-headlining concert with Troye Sivan at Madison Square Garden last September, this time it was all her.And she was coming in hot off two Coachella performances that had celebs such as Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner bopping to her beats.The buzz was definitely in the air on Wednesday night for one of the hottest tickets of the year, with concertgoers wearing their most “Brat” fits, many in “Brat” neon green.And it didn’t take long before Charli XCX launched into two of that album’s biggest hits in “360” and “Von dutch.” Body-rocking across the dark, smoky stage in her trademark black shads, she transformed Barclays Center into a Brooklyn warehouse.Indeed, this felt more like a rave than a concert, a sweaty club instead of an arena.“Night one baby! You f—king ready to party with Charli XCX?” she exclaimed.No doubt — there was an infectious party atmosphere that made the show feel intimate and the singer feel accessible.It was just Charli XCX on the stage for the entire time — discounting the cameraman filming her — and she owned it, from the throbbing “Club Classics” to the tender “So I,” her tribute to her late collaborator Sophie.She may...