Phoebe Bridgers Transports Chicago to Outer-Space During Night One of her Two-Night Residency

The atmosphere was mysterious and beautiful, for a multitude of reasons, Friday night. Large crowds gathered outside of The United Center, fans eager to see the Indie-Alt star, Phoebe Bridgers. 

After a few year stint as front-woman of trio “Boygenius” in addition to a well needed break from the live music scene, Bridgers came back with a bang, announcing her new album, “Lost Weekend” 6 years after the release of her sophomore album, “Punisher” along with an accompanying tour announcement. “The Lost Tour” would sweep a vast majority of the United States, along with a European Leg too. 

With one interesting twist… When Bridgers made the tour announcement, she simply captioned social media posts, “I’m going on tour no phones”

The entire duration of this arena tour would be utilizing YONDR pouches to secure fan phones and smart watches, and prohibiting the use of any recording devices. 

In honesty, my initial reaction to this detail was shock. Not because of the concept, I actually find it incredibly refreshing to have no-phone shows, but how was she going to pull this off with an arena? THOUSANDS of people? It seemed like a tall order, but I was pleasantly surprised. I had no issues whatsoever getting in line, securing my phone, and receiving my seat information via printed receipt, after scanning my ticket. 

This was also my first show at The United Center! And apart from there being no cup holders at my seat (only a slightly disappointing discovery), it was a nice experience. 

Bridgers set the tone of the show before she even took to the stage. Lights low, ambient, voiceless, mixes severed from tracks off her record played softly overhead, and the eerie sounds of… simple human interaction. People chatting, playing games, or just taking in the scene. It was bizarre. And not in a way that was alarming, but in a world where we keep our noses in our phones, face-to-face interaction feels foreign now. It’s easy to scroll Instagram to kill the time before a show or text your friends during the opening act, but this circumstance demanded you to face reality. I even found myself shocked when sitting down next to my fellow press-members, making my typical intro-maneuver of, “Hi, I’m Mayzie! Do you have an Instagram so I can see your photos/review of the show later?” Rendered out of place, but we were all happy to exchange IG handles with one another, writing them down on each others’ notebooks. 

I enjoyed my time before the opening artist, “Alex G”, drawing out the layout of the stage. Bridgers is notoriously intrigued by the supernatural and celestial powers that may be, and she took us right there, no questions asked. The layout was comprised of a main stage at the front of the arena, and a small circular B-stage near the back of the floor. Looming above the B-stage was a large, black sphere, with circular lights scattered around its exterior. The main stage was smaller than your typical arena show stage, and was curved in a half-moon shape. The main stage, most interestingly, covered in a half-sphere, almost igloo-like, but remarkably similar to the top of a UFO. Phoebe made it known, that we would be in for a wild ride. 

Opener Alex G took to the B-stage for his set with his band. I was unfamiliar with the artist, but I enjoyed his performance. The musician’s set was lengthy, nearly an hour long and over a dozen songs on the set. The band was comprised of four members; Alex Giannascoli (vox, guitar & accordion), Tom Kelly (drums), John Heywood (bass), and Sam Acchione (guitar, synth). I also found it endearing that Alex made note to not only thank his band and the headliner, but to thank all of his crew members and bus driver by name from the stage.

Bridgers took to the stage at 9pm, kicking off the night with the opening track of her new album, “The Outside”. Remember that mysterious sphere I mentioned, suspended over the B-stage? The object lowered slowly until just above the surface of the stage, and green lights flashed and flickered from the sphere in sync with Bridgers’ vocal tracks to the song, then gradually raising back up. It was as if the singer was projecting her voice from the object- a vessel delivering a message from her alien mother-ship. It was AWESOME. 

After the first song was played, the attention returned to the main stage, where the top of the UFO opened up like a clam shell, revealing Phoebe standing at the helm of her band. She opened into “Motion Sickness”, one of her most popular songs, and the crowd was singing along at full volume. 

The crowd cheered, and at a pause between songs, Bridgers expressed, “I’ll get less weird after an hour of this, I promise.”

The rest of the show was just incredible, and  I was blown away. 

Fans were ecstatic, as later on, Bridgers announced, “This one is for my boys,” and played “Boygenius” original, “Me and My Dog” solo, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar. 

The setlist for the show is as follows:

[Main Stage]

• The Outside 
• Motion Sickness 
• Kill Me
• The Governors Waltz 
• Lost Boys 
• DVD Menu
• Garden Song
• Moon Song
• Liberty Tree

[B-Stage]

• Panorama (instrumental)
• Lost Weekend
• Funeral
• Graceland Too
• Haunted 
• Still Standing
• As Above 

[Main Stage]

• Bobby
• Sidelines
• Waiting Room
• Me and My Dog
• I Can’t Wait
• Kyoto
• I Know the End

[B-Stage Encore]

• Lost Weekend (reprise)
• Scott Street
• Never Going Back!

Another thing I observed during the performance, was the crowd’s demeanor. This was my first time at a Phoebe Bridgers show, so I am unfamiliar with the fanbase, but this was by far, one of the most respectful and courteous group of fans I have ever encountered. Perhaps it is just how they are, but I also couldn’t help but wonder if the phone-less nature of the show had something to do with it. 

When you’re at a concert, recording every song, taking pictures, posting things to social media, it’s so easy to make a spectacle of the show. It becomes about appearances: about how close you are to them, what songs they played, etc. 

But when you’re forced to put your phone away, and look directly into the eyes of the person who is sharing both their art and their heart with you, there is something so deeply humanizing that occurs. They’re no longer a moment to be captured, but an experience to be shared, and a voice, a human soul to be seen and heard and connected with. 

WOW.

I could go on and on about this concert. Bridgers was so intentional about every detail. From the projections on the curtain backdrop and inside of the igloo, the orange lighting and haze around the circumference of the half-sphere replicating the look of a black hole, the rotating B-Stage and her black light tear make up and white dress for the encore, everything was intricately chosen and executed with perfection. 

I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to come out and review the show, and on top of Phoebe’s jaw-dropping performance, I have only wonderful things to say about her team and management! They were so lovely to work with, and I hope I will have the pleasure of working with them again in the future. 

If you want to catch Phoebe on tour, there is a very good chance she’ll be coming to a city near you! You can find more information on tour dates and tickets on her website here.