FEATURE:
The Great American Songbook
who I have been a fan of for years now. Her debut album, Stranger in the Alps, arrived in 2017. Punisher came out in 2020. Two remarkable solo albums. Phoebe Bridgers has also worked with Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker in boygenius (they are on hiatus rather than split up) and they released the boygenius E.P. in 2018 and 2023’s album, the record. They also released the 2023 E.P., the rest. Bridgers joined Conor Oberst as Better Oblivion Community Center for their eponymous debut album in 2019. At the moment, Bridgers is preparing for a new tour. She has insisted people do not use their phones. This is something more and more artists are asking of their fans. Madonna doing the same. The California-born artist is one of the world’s greatest songwriters. I will come to a review of her sold-out benefit concert at Madison Square Garden earlier this month. NME provided their take:
“Phoebe Bridgers performed a communal and surprisingly intimate no-device gig at New York’s Madison Square Garden as part of her ‘Spring Pop-Up Tour’ – using the gig to call out ICE and raise funding for immigrants.
The show came after the singer-songwriter played her first live solo live show in three years last month in Roswell, New Mexico, where she debuted three new songs and strongly suggested that a new album is on its way.
Announced on Monday (June 1), tickets to the NYC arena show were made available via Tidal and randomly allocated to fans who registered to attend, with options to pay $1, $5, $10, or $20 and all proceeds from ticket sales going towards Community Justice Exchange’s Immigration Bond Freedom Fund, which provides aid and bail to those in ICE detention centres.
Before the event on Thursday night (June 5), those planning to attend were made aware of the strict no electronics, cameras, phones, Google Glass, Apple Watches policy – and journalists were told not to bring pens, pencils, or paper because lyrics had leaked online during previous shows. Upon arrival, guests were given Yondr pouches for their cellphones and devices, and black paper tickets to find their seat numbers.
A small platform, staged to look like a ‘70s basement and decorated with a small couch draped in a vintage blanket, lava lamps, blacklight posters, and a small boxy television playing video clips in between scenes of static, was set up in the large venue, with Bridgers joined by keyboardist Nick White and longtime collaborator Christian Lee Hutson on guitar for the acoustic set.
Bridgers walked onto the stage by shouting a cheerful “surprise” before performing a stripped-back and meditative rendition of her hit ‘Motion Sickness’, with the sold-out venue completely silent outside of Bridgers’ voice. She acknowledged the rarity of the evening, saying, “It’s weird not having a phone, isn’t it?” adding that she herself hadn’t been to a no-phone show.
She also told the crowd, “I appreciate you allowing this to be an internet-free zone,” before jesting, “If any of you stuck an Apple Watch up your ass to record this, please don’t post it on the internet,” opening her arms and then sharing with a grin, “I trust you.”
The trio then performed fan favourites, ‘Waiting Room’, ‘Kyoto,’ and ‘Moon Song’, before rolling into seven new tracks — many of which continued the singular sound Bridgers built on her acclaimed second album, 2020’s ‘Punisher’ — melancholy lyrics made up of astute observations of the state of the world and relationships, backed by slow strumming guitars and orchestration that oscillates from Americana to indie folk.
However, some of the songwriting harkened back to the unabashed candidness of her debut album, 2017’s ‘Stranger in the Alps’. A new nunber she announced with “This song is about the past, though I’m told all of my songs are,” came with a crushing, crescendoing chorus that saw her and Hutson strumming emphatically as she alluded to an ill-fated engagement. Elsewhere, she enlisted keys, shaping a sparkling melody around Peter Pan metaphors that seem to shine a light on men with arrested development.
There was also a twangy, upbeat, rootsy track she presented with the words “Here’s a country song,” that came complete with a pre-chorus “woo”. Before a final new song, she performed ‘Scott Street’ and ‘Graceland Too’, with fans taking part in the classic rock practice of holding up lighters during the latter, which she called “unbelievable.”
Throughout the set, Bridgers took the opportunity to thank fans for raising funds to support the release of immigrants from ICE detainment, sharing “I hate those fucking ICE idiots,” and calling them “cops squared”. At one point, she also asked the crowd how many of their parents were conservative, before thanking them for being brave and “defecting.”
Towards the close, she gave streaming platform Tidal a shoutout for hosting the event and “paying artists more than any other platform. She also shared “we’re going on tour” pointing to her announcement of ‘The Lost Tour’. Bridgers’ first solo tour in three years kicks off in September, with dates spanning North America, Europe and the UK. Support acts will be Alex G in North America and Isaac Wood in the UK/EU. According to Bridgers’ Instagram, the upcoming dates will also be device-free. She captioned the tour announcement, “I’m going on tour no phones”.
Phoebe Bridgers is embarking on The Lost Tour later this year. You can see the dates on her website. Starting in September, she comes to Ireland and the U.K. Included in the run is a date at the 02 on 1st December. That will be a huge gig. One of the absolute finest voices and songwriters we have ever seen in my opinion. As a solo artist and as part of boygenius and Oblivion Community Center, we have been gifted with so much beautiful music this part decade or so. There is something wonderful you get with Phoebe Bridgers that you do not get with other artists. Her morals, humour, intelligence and down to earth quality. It explains why she has such a devoted fanbase. This L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artist and idol is in my thoughts as it is Pride Month. Below are twenty songs from Phoebe Bridgers. Most are solo, though a few are from her collaborative projects. Proof that she is a rarefied talent…
WE are so lucky to have.