Thirty minutes after Alex G finished his opening set, audience members erupted in cheers as “The Outside” started playing, while bright strobe lights of teal and white flashed throughout the arena. As the first verse ended, the dome shape on the main stage slowly started to lift, revealing Phoebe Bridgers and her band. The lights flashed off, leaving the audience in suspense before the next song, “Motion Sickness,” started playing, and the lights began again.
On Sept. 28, “The Lost Tour” was brought to Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This was the 10th show of the tour, and Bridgers and her band had just finished their three night run in Brooklyn, New York.
“The Lost Tour” is Bridger’s first tour since she went on hiatus three years ago, as well as “Lost Weekend” being her first solo album in six years. Fourteen of the songs from the new album were played at the concert. The other nine songs were from Bridger’s two other solo albums.
For “The Lost Tour,” Bridgers announced that there would be a no phone policy at every show, and that phones, watches, and anything electronic would be taken and put into a Yondr pouch as soon as people stepped into the venue.
Bridgers addressed this policy during the show, and stated how much she appreciated people listening and not breaking the Yondr pouches open. She also stated that she liked having fans live in the moment rather than through their phone screens, and liked the connection it gave between her and the crowd.
The show is divided into three different portions, as Bridgers switches between the main stage and the B-stage in lower general admission.
The first portion features nine of Bridger’s songs. Throughout the show, the dome and the screen behind it showed Bridgers’ face along with images to match the theme of the song playing. During “Moon Song”, a moon was displayed on the dome screen, while stars and other planets were on the screen behind.
The second portion occurs on the B-stage, and features more of Bridgers’ emotional songs, including “Funeral”, “As Above,” and “Still Standing.” Before the section starts, lights flash into the audience and create squiggly lines. During the last two songs, the large disco ball above her shines a light down and makes it look like Bridgers is getting beamed up into a UFO.
“As Above” and “Still Standing” are both about Bridgers’ late father, who she had a complicated relationship with. Bridgers talked about her relationship with her father with the audience, and a strong connection could be felt throughout the audience.
The third and final portion goes back onto the main stage, and the dome relifts. During this section, Bridgers will play a surprise song. At the show, she brought the opener out, Alex G, to play a duet of his own song, “Bobby.” This was the first time Bridger’s had done something like this on the tour so far.
Another first was during “I Can’t Wait,” as Bridgers brought out her brother, Jackson Bridgers, to sing the duet in the song with her.
A standout song from the third portion was “Waiting Room”, as it’s one of Bridgers’ more popular songs and is a lyrically powerful song. This song also doesn’t get played at every show, as it’s in a rotation with another one of her songs, “Georgia.”
Many fans believed the show ended after Bridgers departed from the main stage, ending with “I Know The End.” However, she returned alone to the B stage for an encore in a new outfit, which glowed in the blue light that shone on her.
Bridger’s began the encore with a solo performance of “Lost Weekend (Reprise),” and followed the song with “Scott Street,” one of her more popular songs. Fans were waving their hands back and forth in unison as the song was played.
As a huge fan of Bridgers, I was very pleased with the whole show. From the song choices to the lighting design, and even the screen usage, everything was perfect and well put together. The connection between the audience and Bridgers could be felt throughout the entire show, which made the whole experience extra special.
“The Lost Tour” continues in North America throughout October. In the months of November and December, the tour goes international, ending in Denmark. Venue dates can be found on Bridger’s official website.
