For the longest time, smartphones felt like a gift. Slowly but surely, they’ve become just as much of a nuisance. At concerts in particular, it’s hard to experience an artist’s vision for a stage performance as they intended, with a sea of lit screens clouding your view. Taylor Swift and other artists have used social media and show footage to market their tours. Others are opting for even newer technology than smartphones themselves to bring concert experiences back to a simpler time. At a recent stop in Chicago on The Lost Tour, her shows in the United States behind the new album Lost Weekend, Phoebe Bridgers put on a performance worthy of her arena bookings. Every moment felt all-encompassing, especially because our smart devices stayed locked in a bag until the final song.
Phoebe Bridgers’ The Lost Tour Chicago Stop is a Major Upgrade from Opening Act Gigs a Decade Ago
In 2016, during my senior year of undergrad, I booked it from Normal, IL, to Chicago to see my favorite upcoming artist. Julien Baker’s 2015 debut Sprained Ankle was a mainstay in my rotation for the better part of six months. Her opening act, Phoebe Bridgers, had put out an EP earlier that year that I enjoyed but didn’t resonate as strongly as Baker’s output. At Lincoln Hall, Baker played an incredible set among my favorites for an artist’s first lap around the country that I’ve seen.
Bridgers, however, was a revelation. Playing only with a drummer, her set included songs like “Killer” and “Georgia”, which I’d see her play 10 years later on the second night show at the United Center in Chicago. The way time passes is chilling and beautiful, and to see what the last decade brought Bridgers felt like seeing a good friend who made their vision come true. Parasocial as that may sound.
On the main stage, Bridgers was joined by a great collection of musicians. I was especially happy to see Boygenius bassist Melina Mae Cortez Duterte back on stage with Bridgers. Duterte’s solo project, Jay Som, is among my favorite projects on the legendary Polyvinyl label. However, a separate stage that hosted concert opener Alex G and his band also served as a smaller space for Bridgers and a smaller collective of bandmates to play more intimately.
Phoebe Bridgers Deciding to Perform to Device-Free Fans Felt Freeing
It was hard not to think of that stage in relation to Bridgers playing Lincoln Hall in 2016. She had just about as much space to perform. But this time, the stage rotated as more than 20,000 people sang along. I thought about how much my life had changed since the last performance I saw. Although she was much farther from me than she was in 2016, the immediacy was still there, largely because of the no-phones policy accompanying this tour. When we entered the United Center, we received receipts showing our seat assignments and were asked to place smart devices in a Yondr pouch. Staff then locked the pouch, which is attached to a strap to form a side bag of sorts. Apart from a few designated areas where Yondr staff would unlock your phone, this is where devices stayed.
I have no photos from the Phoebe Bridgers The Lost Tour, nor videos to relive the moments. Funnily enough, my memory of the show is stronger for it. I understand the concerns around medical exemptions and other accommodations. That said, I think the forced analog intake of a performance like this fit the show Phoebe Bridgers envisioned during The Lost Tour. She said it herself in between songs midway through the performance. Many tracks on the new album Lost Weekend revolve around the loss of her father. Their relationship, however complicated, is one she’s now experiencing through the lens of grief.
Artists Who Pride Themselves on Vulnerability in Their Writing Deserve to Be Met in the Same Space
Living through grief is daunting. Writing music and performing it about grief seems impossible to me. Vulnerability is something that feels liberating at best and immuring at its worst. In a heartfelt moment while speaking to the audience, Bridgers explained that seeing phones pointed at her felt odd. That surveillance-state sensation, coupled with performing songs about her dead dad? Not something I’d want to experience myself. In protecting her peace, Bridgers also gave fans a good excuse to unplug. I loved making conversation before the start time and walking around to people-watch. I felt in tune with my fellow concert-goers. And most of all, I felt dialed in to every second of the energy, emotion, and elation Bridgers’ music provides.
The “sad girl music” trope never sat well with me when it came to Phoebe Bridgers. She doesn’t write sad music that settles for pessimism. Even the most gut-wrenching tracks carry the notion that if we can’t fix what’s broken now, imagine what it would be like if we could. From the cathartic group scream of “I Know the End” to a light show that rivals your favorite EDM artist, The Lost Tour is determined to meld life’s lows and highs into something beautiful. As long as we have art and the things we hold closest to root us, there’s always something to lean on.
Without phones, and with a great new album to enjoy live, it felt like the fans at night two of The Lost Tour in Chicago all understood just how special this night was. It’ll be tough to top this the rest of 2026, and even beyond.
