Concert Review: Phoebe Bridgers Goes Into Her Feelings At MHOW
Phoebe Bridgers’ show was unbelievably dark: literally and figuratively. The light were dimmed to their lowest, yet colorful hues, while her face glowed with the Christmas Lights that swirled her mic. She laughed as she remarked, “This next song is uncharacteristically depressing!” Yet, as I looked around to see NO PHONES UP, I realized the audience was connected to her sad songs because they wanted to connect to their sad memories
With just a debut under her belt, Stranger In The Alps, Bridgers has created a MASSIVE following that makes me wonder: Are we all depressed? I am not saying this to be facetious, judgmental, or alarming. In fact, all of our lives are divided between joy, sadness, and the choice on which one to focus upon more. Thus, as Bridgers played tracks like, “Killer”, “Funeral”, and “Motion Sickness”, you got a solid idea that this was a concert for those who felt emotionally tired. Her voice, though soft, grafts over her songs like paper skin. Her darker notes are thinly veiled but brazenly tapped to show we all struggle to connect to joy, and most of us do not even see its presence until its leaving.
Smoke Signals
From her perfect, vocal alliance with Conor Oberst in “Would You Rather” to her awesome rendition of Sheryl Crow’s “If It Makes You Happy”, with Soccer Mommy joining in, even when accompanied, Phoebe Bridgers radiated loneliness. She encapsulates humanity’s capacity to feel insular even when surrounded, and gave a concert that embodied the beauty of a foggy day. As she sang “Steamroller”, I swore grey clouds aligned within Music Hall of Williamsburg. Her voice and guitar melodies rained over the crowd as if we were watching her snugged, at home, from our window, and looking at passers-by to deprecate our own inability to walk through life, even in rain. Sure, that is a dark image, but Bridgers is not “light music” even though she sings for the good people that feel bad.
Phoebe Bridgers – Motion Sickness (Official Video)
At first, when I looked at her giant backdrop of a pictured dog blissfully running across a field, and a painted, neon green ghost drooping to the side like a photo-bomber, I did not know what to make of it. Yet, as Bridgers sang songs such as, “Wasted”, “Demi Moore”, and “Chelsea”, the ghost began to take life as a reflection of how we all feel when captured: shapeless. It is as if, our body, has a solid or distinct form that, somehow, our feelings can never mold. In the quietness of her show, Bridgers allowed her audience to settle into that unsettling feeling, and provided a uniquely cathartic concert experience. For More Information on Phoebe Bridgers Click Here.
Phoebe Bridgers – Would You Rather (Official Video)
