Phoebe Bridgers’ Reunion Tour Is One Of The Best Live Shows I’ve Ever Seen
Samantha Colleran, June 2022
I was at school doing work in the student union at some point a few months ago whe I got an email about Phoebe Bridgers adding a tour date to Forest Hills Stadium, which isn’t too far away from my house. I managed to get into presale, grab two floor tickets for $90 each, and prepared myself to be amazed by Phoebe’s incredible talent. Soon after announcing that date, it was revealed the opening act for the night was MUNA, an indie pop group I had fallen in love with when they were announced as Harry’s 2017 Live On Tour opening act (I didn’t get to the Radio City show, but I kept tabs on MUNA because there was something so cool about them), and I was over the freaking moon. Even closer to the show date, Phoebe announced there would be another special guest, one who would be revealed on the day of the show. I knew the night was going to be insanely special, but I had absolutely no idea just how special it was going to be.
My best friend Jonathan, who accompanied me to Wallows the Tuesday before this show, joined me once again for a day of queuing for a few hours before being let into the venue. We made some friends while waiting, and once the doors opened we somehow managed to get super close to the stage, which I had never imagined in my wildest dreams. Once 6:00pm hit, MUNA took the stage, something I had been waiting five years to witness. (And witnessing it three people behind barricade left me speechless.)
Their set was short but very sweet and full of so much energy. With a mix of older songs and new songs off of their self titled third studio album set to release on Friday, Katie, Naomi, and Jo commanded the Forest Hills stage for a half hour or so. A personal highlight for me was their song “Taken” off of their album Saves The World, which quickly became a favorite of mine when it came out and has remained a top five MUNA track for me. To close their set, MUNA brought Phoebe out for their collaboration, “Silk Chiffon”, which the crowd went absolutely wild for (myself included). Other standout moments were “Home By Now”, their most recent single release, “I Know A Place” off of their 2017 About U album which took on a life of its own after the Orlando Pulse shooting as a nonviolent cry for peace in the LBGTQ+ community, and set opener “Number One Fan” which was the best way to kick off the night.
A little after 7:00pm our surprised guest was revealed- Lucy Dacus! Lucy and Phoebe are close friends and are ⅔ of a supergroup with Julien Baker, boygenius. I’ll admit I’m not as well versed in Lucy’s music as I want to be, but seeing her live has further pushed me to do a deeper dive into her discography. The majority of Lucy’s set consisted of tracks from her Home Video album, “Triple Dog Dare”, “Hot & Heavy”, and “Night Shift” were the few songs I was most familiar with, and hearing them live was mind blowingly amazing. Some new favorites of mine are “Thumbs” which was so stunning live it nearly moved me to tears, “Kissing Lessons” which is a more recent release, and “Going Going Gone”, which MUNA and Phoebe joined Lucy on stage to perform.
Phoebe. Where do I even begin with her? The only word I can use to describe Phoebe’s overall energy and stage presence is ethereal. When she stepped onto the stage in her skeleton shirt and white suit, it felt like the entire world stopped. She commands the stage effortlessly, and she could not have crafted a more beautiful setlist or had better visuals to pair with those songs. Phoebe started the night with the Stranger In The Alps hit “Motion Sickness”, followed by the most gorgeous rendition of “DVD Menu” I’ve ever heard, and went right into “Kyoto”, which she dedicated to the dad’s of the crowd (if you know, you know). These were the more upbeat moments of the night, and to say I cried the rest of the way through the setlist would be an understatement.
“Punisher” and “Halloween” followed, and seeing all of the emotion Phoebe poured into these songs made me appreciate them even more. “Smoke Signals” and “Funeral”, two Stranger songs I love dearly were up next, and hearing “Funeral” live was beyond emotional. The second verse always strikes me when listening to it through my headphones, but hearing it live sent me into hysterics. My favorite moment of the night, and possibly the worst song to follow one as emotional as “Funeral”, was “Chinese Satellite”. I consider myself an undiagnosed insomniac; I often have trouble falling asleep at night, and when I can’t sleep, I listen to music. “Chinese Satellite” is one of the three songs I turn to on sleepless nights to drown out the morning birds. It’s a song I wish I wrote, but I didn’t, so I silently sing the words as I try to shut my brain off. When I was at school, the “I want to go home” line hit extra hard; hearing it live and getting to sing it with Phoebe was something I won’t ever forget and I will cherish that moment forever. (I also need to thank Jonathan, who held me through this entire song and let me weep in his arms.)
“Moon Song” saw Rob Moose, a close friend and collaborator of Phoebe’s, accompanying her on the violin. I knew hearing “Moon Song” under the moon would be a moment I’d never forget, but hearing this version felt incredibly surreal to witness. “Scott Street”, “Savior Complex”, and “ICU” were also emotional moments. These songs are also special to me, so hearing them live was very overwhelming (in a good way). Also, hearing a crowd of thousands scream the line “I hate your mom” during “ICU” was hilariously beautiful. Another beautiful moment was “Sidelines”. A few fans who run a Phoebe fan account @bridgersontour were handing out blue hearts to hold up during “Sidelines” while I was waiting in the queue. Most of the people who had the hearts ended up around my little group of friends I made with Jonathan in the queue, and Phoebe noticed us holding them up. She came over to our side of the barricade and sang part of the second verse to us. Normally when artists get that close there’s a massive push, but this was different. It was a calm movement, and I’ve never experienced anything like it.
“Graceland Too”, a song about caring about someone who doesn’t love themselves, was a bonding moment between Phoebe and the crowd. “Said she knows she lived through it/ To get to this moment” struck an even harder chord singing it alongside Phoebe and thousands of other people who fought their own battles to be in that moment, and having Lucy back on stage to perform the backing vocals made hearing “Graceland Too” live one of the most perfect concert moments I’ve ever lived through. “I Know The End”, the final song before the encore, allowed one final bonding moment between the crowd and Phoebe, who told us she wanted everyone to “blow their voices out”. Nothing is more insanely beautiful than a crowd of people letting their deepest belly screams tear through their bodies and rip their vocal chords to shreds for a two minute stretch of time. The concert was on Thursday, today is Sunday, and my throat still hurts from screaming so hard.
For the fan-voted encore, Phoebe came back out on stage for a solo rendition of “Waiting Room”. Phoebe’s voice is soft and airy, and this solo moment allowed it to shine through perfectly. It was a wonderful way to end one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to, and if I could live through it again I wouldn’t change anything about the night.
MUNA, Lucy, and especially Phoebe, thank you for being my first almost-barricade show, and for creating such a lovely space where it felt safe to cry my heart out for hours. I won’t ever forget this night.