Phoebe Bridgers is finally back, but only on her terms. After a series of small, top-secret pop-up shows around the country, the indie rock idol just performed his biggest solo concert in years at Madison Square Garden. Thousands of fans in New York City had to put their cellphones in special pouches and throw away their writing utensils upon entry.
These precautions were taken to prevent some of Bridgers’ unreleased songs, many of which she performed on Thursday night (June 4), from being released online ahead of her unreleased and widely rumored third solo album. Just allowing journalists onto the premises was significant, as the media had been unable to access her hushed acoustic sets in the American South and Midwest in recent weeks.
But after securing a promise not to reveal any new song titles or lyrics in the post-show press, her team granted Billboard access to the arena and allowed them to witness exactly what kind of magic Bridgers, who has spent nearly two years out of the spotlight and three times that long without releasing a follow-up to her sophomore album, Punisher, is creating.
She did not disappoint. After winning critical acclaim for his appearance on Voygenius’ phenomenal album Album and opening Taylor Swift’s Billion Dollar box office hit Elas Tour, the 2024 Grammy Awards will be the best of the bunch to date. Coming into her solo career with the experience of having won more awards than her complements, she effortlessly captivated the audience with a stripped-down rendition of eight unreleased songs from her next project, performed on a small stage decorated with a simple couch, lava lamp, and light fixtures. small vintage television. There were only two other musicians with her. Christian Lee Hutson on guitar and Nick White on keyboards.
These songs touch on the deterioration of love and its changing forms, the feeling of being hidden but wanting to resurface, and the desire to improve as a person, even if you don’t know how yet. The idea of death has always been woven into Bridger’s music in conceptual ways, but now she seems more interested in examining her own mortality, whether it’s the relationships and patterns that test it, or the uncertainty of how to spend the limited time she has left. Her parents make cameos throughout the songs, and one particularly poignant song is a direct address to her late father, detailing the complexities of her relationship with him, something she’s only hinted at in her music.
Bridgers also currently has no interest in playing for people who don’t support a particular cause she’s passionate about. Separate from members of the press, thousands of MSG fans were able to attend by winning seats through a lottery system, and those selected were required to donate at least $1 to the Immigrant Bond Freedom Fund, which supports people detained and deported under the Trump administration. “I hate these idiots at ICE,” Bridgers said, thanking the crowd for donating and quipping that American immigration agents “are like cops.”
But overall, the night, and the entire mini-“tour,” was an opportunity for Bridgers to reintroduce herself to her true fans before making a big comeback later this year. “We’re so back,” someone in the front seat says as the audience sings word-for-word, “We’re so back,” as she slams down the guitar strings during the most intense part of the opening number, “Motion Sickness.”
Check out the best moments from Bridgers’ top-secret MSG show below.
circle of trust
After performing some of the most beloved songs in her discography, including “Waiting Room,” “Kyoto,” and “Moon Song,” Bridgers took the hilariously vulgar way she transitioned into the new song section.
It was like, “I’m playing a new song, so if anyone finds a way to stick an Apple Watch up their ass and record it, please don’t put it on the internet.”
Then he reached out to the thousands of people in front of him, more than he could see from his vantage point, and added, “I trust you.”
Phoebe Goes Country
After a series of new songs about an emotionally unavailable partner, a budding self-destructive romance, and her father, each based on folky, haunting melodies that may sound quite different in the studio versions, but at the show the ample harmonica provided by Hutson made many of the songs feel very rootsy – Bridgers switched into full country mode.
“This is a country song,” Bridgers says, introducing an uncharacteristically earnest and hopeful call to action to change ourselves for the better. Accompanied by an acoustic guitar, this song was easily the most upbeat track of the night. (On a personal note, this song also had some of my favorite rhymes: “Ocean” and “Ibuprofen.”)
explosion from the past
Switching from his guitar to the Mellotron (he had put down his mug after drinking all night), Bridgers told the crowd, “We’re going to play songs about the past. That’s what all the songs pointed out to me.”
It feels redundant to say the lyrics are personal, candid, and brutally honest, considering that’s probably what Bridgers is best known for as a songwriter. But this was on another level. (Let’s just say she mentioned her long-rumored engagement to an Irish ex-boyfriend, which she ultimately called off.)
light up
As with countless concerts throughout history, there came a moment when the entire arena lit up with people waving lights to show their appreciation for a particularly emotional song. But for perhaps the first time in decades, they consisted not of cell phone flashes but of good old-fashioned disposable lighters, all of which remained locked in pouches.
Bridgers shook his head in disbelief at the spectacle while singing fan-favorite Punisher song “Graceland Two,” clearly fascinated by this rare return to old-school rock and roll. “I can’t believe it,” she said quietly after the song ended.
MSG limited edition
Towards the end of the set, Bridgers performed the last of her unreleased songs, revealing that it was a song she had never performed on any other song in her acoustic run. “If I mess it up, you guys aren’t going to tell anyone, are you?” she says behind the Mellotron, before calmly and lyrically reflecting on her place as a woman in her time, and in particular, seemed to be musing on the concept of motherhood.
Then she told everyone the big news. As the arena erupted in screams, she casually said, “I’m going on tour,” adding that she “really misses” performing live on tour. (Presumably she means a bigger tour in support of her next album, TBD). “I’ll tell everyone else tomorrow, but I’ll tell you guys tonight.”
She meaningfully added, “I’m looking forward to seeing you this fall.”
Source link