The boys have arrived! Supergroup boygenius, composed of singer-songwriters Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker, performed their first-ever Philadelphia show on September 30th to the sold-out TD Pavilion at the Mann Center. Despite the audience of nearly 13,000 fans, the show managed to feel deeply intimate, even for those without floor tickets.
The show began with a backstage performance of “Without You Without Them” acapella, its rich harmonies making up for the lack of instrumentation. This was quickly followed by rock-oriented “$20”, and “Satanist”, after which the boys performed “True Blue”, a standout track off The Record.
“True Blue” stands as a testament to unconditional love, refraining, “It feels good to be known so well / I can’t hide from you like I hide from myself.” This expresses the intimacy and openness deep friendships are built upon, feelings tangible in the crowds and fan projects at each show. Blue hearts were distributed before the performance, and, during “True Blue,” fans held them over their phone’s flashlights, creating a sea of bobbing blue lights.
Directly after “True Blue” came “Bite the Hand,” a track about the pressures of performance in the public eye, off of the band’s self-titled EP.
“Bite the Hand” addresses the deeply parasocial relationship between the artist and the consumer, as well as the feelings of guilt and fear that come with it. Bridgers, Baker, and Dacus took the song as an opportunity for a multilayered performance piece, with screens displaying audience members dancing, singing, and screaming along, including one older man wearing a “Boomers for boygenius” shirt. This contrast of thematic elements was reflected throughout the setlist, making it especially unique and memorable.
The concert was also marked by the very first live performance of “Powers” – track four of boygenius’ upcoming EP, the rest. The boys’ announcement and performance of “Powers” was a complete surprise, making the reveal feel even more special.
The concert’s intimacy was further enhanced by the band’s rapport with the audience, as they spent time in between songs talking about everything from massages to tweets. A scream of “I love you Julien!” at a rare, quiet moment elicited giggles from the audience and band alike. However, there were also moments of gravity, most notably Bridgers’ address to the audience before “Letter to an Old Poet”.
“Letter to an Old Poet,” arguably the most moving track on The Record, is, as Bridgers described it, “intense” to perform. For this reason, she regularly requests that fans avoid filming the song, finding that it makes her performance and the rest of the show much easier.
“Letter To An Old Poet” is heart-wrenching, gritty, and hauntingly beautiful all at once.
It serves as a sequel to “Me And My Dog”, with melodic and lyrical similarities providing a raw depiction of realizing your self-worth while healing from an abusive relationship. Additionally, growth and the passage of time are realized between “Me And My Dog” and “Letter To An Old Poet”, with contrasting lines “I wanna be emaciated” (“Me And My Dog”) and “I wanna be happy” (“Letter To An Old Poet”) as the climaxes of each song.
At the Mann, Bridgers performed “Letter To An Old Poet” while walking through the aisles and singing to the crowd. In many ways, this moment embodied the core of what makes boygenius so excellent. Bridgers, Dacus, and Baker masterfully harness raw emotional intimacy in their music, especially when performing live, in a way very few others can.
After the mournful “Ketchum, ID”, the band asked the audience to sing along, and the entire crowd reprised the song’s chorus a capella, melancholy harmonies echoing into the night. Julien Baker’s closing guitar solo in “Salt In The Wound” remains unmatched, performing it perfectly regardless of her bandmates’ antics (in Philadelphia’s case, rolling around making out on stage), and the perfect way to end the night.
Bridgers, Dacus, and Baker’s performance at the Mann Center was a truly excellent example of what concerts can be. Fun, emotional, and technically excellent, boygenius’s impact only grows as the indie-rock darlings prove their artistic merit again and again.
