Phoebe Bridgers wrapped-up her three night, phone-free, stint at Barclays Center in Brooklyn with one more boygenius reunion and her most ambitious stage show yet.
When Phoebe Bridgers made her return this past spring, she did it by playing intimate pop-up shows in select cities across the country that rarely get tour dates from major stars and she showed up in these various locations with less than 24 hours notice before showtime. That mini tour culminated in a massive show at New York's Madison Square Garden where she announced that she'd be going on a major headlining tour. Now, after releasing her critically acclaimed third album Lost Weekend, Bridgers has made good on her arena tour and made it all the more special by locking up phones to keep each show recording-free and one where total engagement from the crowd is the only option. Following Alex G's opening set on the b-stage that was placed in the round at the back edge of the floor, a giant dome covered the main stage and it lit up like a planetarium as the opening of "The Outside" began to play from the speakers. As a giant spinning light dropped over the b-stage and began to dazzle the crowd, the dome lifted to reveal Bridgers and an impressive backing band as they laid into "Motion Sickness" as the crowd erupted in triumphant cries of joy. With a cellist, two violinists, two keyboard players, two guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer backing up her idyllic sound, the band created massive swells of music that carried to the rafters of the arena and showed off Phoebe in her most accomplished setting yet. As intergalactic videos swirled on a curtain behind her while larger than life videos of her were overlayed on top, the dome quickly rose to reveal a spinning ring of lights that only added to the more celestial vibes of the night and made the case for her entering her bonafide rockstar era. As the song hit with a new, primal power, it was evident that the long-awaited return had not only been thoughtfully catered for a comeback, but allowed her to do so with the most grandiose ambitions that succeeded with flying colors. Moving directly to the even more vulnerable and strip-backed "Kill Me," the crowd was under her full command and it was clear that the impact of these songs was having a rippling effect on everyone in attendance as people hugged and wept tears of joy (and potential sadness as well) for the entirety of the night. As the nimble finger-picking of "The Governor's Waltz" silenced the room, you could feel the attention of the audience fully lock-in, free of distraction and laser focused on what was happening on stage, it was a perfect reminder of why she made us give up our phones for the night and begged the question of why we're not willing to do it more often. She introduced the next track as one she wrote with Alex G and as the opening chords of "Lost Boys" rang out, the entire vibe shifted and a song that once felt only OK established itself in her discography, signaling its significance and highlighting the pure joy it gives to folks, one that felt especially prolific just before the ending when the entire arena joined in for one epic scream that felt like it altered the trajectory of the night from a good performance into one that many will be discussing for days, if not weeks and months, to come. Hitting us with back-to-back Punisher songs was another portion of the night that really elevated the night as "Garden Song" and "Moon Song," the later of which saw the underbelly of the dome rise to reveal projections of the moon in another nod to just how much her stage show has taken off for this tour, had even more people gripping their loved ones and wiping tears out of their eyes. As she made her way to the b-stage in the round, the instrumental "Panorama" played out and when she re-emerged for "Lost Weekend" the lights began to spin and shoot lasers like a mirrorball over the entire building. It was during this part of the night when Bridgers made a speech about how she stepped away from music a few years back while her life got suddenly heavy. After dealing with unprecedented levels of fame that pushed her out of her comfort zone, she also lost her dad, a person with whom she'd always had a difficult relationship that somehow became even more complicated after his death. As she talked about their complications, she mentioned how he did impart significant wisdom on her along with teaching her guitar and playing a lot of "Needle and the Damage Done" together, a moment which finally broke me and reduced me to tears. Naturally when she played "Funeral" and "Graceland Too," she did so to a crowd that also had just been broken and made us all grieve together as our fresh wounds succumbed to the beauty of her music. She high-fived the crowd as she made her way back to the main stage to rejoin her band for "Bobby" and early on she gave looks of confusion before admitting into the mic "I think we're playing this wrong, can we start over?" It was a moment of levity, one where she showed humanity and the real authenticity that comes with playing music live and the inevitable mistakes that might happen along the way. Plus everyone was excited to pretty much get to hear the song twice. Pulling out "Georgia" from her debut was a welcome surprise as was the roaring rendition of her newest song "On Video" from the new motion picture Prime Time where she makes her acting debut. When the lights came back up after the track, it was revealed that Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus had made their way to the stage to join their boygenius bandmate and the reaction from the crowd was deafening. As the trio dove into "Not Strong Enough," their presence was enough to melt the audience into total oblivion and to watch them lined-up in perfect harmony to rip through the track was another emotional number that had everyone losing their collective mind. The trio followed it up with a rare performance of "Powers" from their (for now) final EP The Rest, a song Bridgers categorized as one of their most underrated and her own personal favorite. While the appearance was brief, it was enough to overwhelmingly satisfy an already emphatic crowd and as she dropped into "Kyoto" it was clear that there were still impressive highlights ahead. Following that rapturous anthem, the build-up of "I Know the End" carried the night into another moment of pure transcendence and as the entire arena joined together for that epic final scream, it felt like it was enough to shift the earth of its axis. After a quick costume change from her black laced dress into a glow in the dark white piece that highlighted the sparkling, gemstone tears drops that adorned her face for the night, she appeared back on the b-stage and on the floor to play keys for the reprise of "Lost Weekend" before picking up her guitar one more time to lead us through "Scott Street" to close out the night. As she said her final goodbyes and the band played "Never Going Back" as the exit music of the night, people gathered together once more, fully embracing with faces full of tears and the emotional weight of the music really sinking in one final time. Phoebe Bridgers has never been bigger and on this tour she has not only accepted her fame, but is using her powers to make the most of it with her most demanding and artistic concert to date. It's one that not only recognizes her achievement, but one that upholds her status as one of the most important artists of her generation.
Set list:
01 "The Outside"
02 "Motion Sickness"
03 "Kill Me"
04 "The Governor's Waltz"
05 "Lost Boys"
06 "DVD Menu"
07 "Garden Song"
08 "Moon Song"
09 "Liberty Tree"
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10 "Panorama"
11 "Lost Weekend"
12 "Funeral"
13 "Graceland Too"
14 "Haunted"
15 "Still Standing"
16 "As Above"
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17 "Bobby"
18 "Georgia"
19 "I Can't Wait"
20 "On Video"
21 "Not Strong Enough" [with boygenius)
22 "Powers" [with boygenius]
23 "Kyoto"
24 "I Know the End"
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25 "Lost Weekend (Reprise)"
26 "Scott Street"
27 "Never Going Back!"
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