Phoebe Bridgers’ The Lost Tour made me reflect on my life in many ways, but most surprisingly, it made me realize the biggest thing taking me out of any concert experience had been in my hand the whole time: my phone.
Bridgers took the stage at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on Sept. 22 for one of her most anticipated tours to date. It has been three and a half years since Bridgers toured her solo music, having last performed with the band Boygenius and opened for Taylor Swift. Her third studio album, Lost Weekend, which was released Aug. 14, marks six years since her last album Punisher in 2020.
The album itself is very intimate in nature, focusing on her late father, ex-fiancé, and new love. Her set list was a blend of her old music and new songs from the album. I think she did a great job with pacing, keeping the concert very engaging. To me, the coolest part of the concert was the production design. This album is very otherworldly, and the design of the stage reflected that. The lighting of the concert was amazing; the main stage had a large space dome that lifted up to reveal Bridgers and her band. Additionally, there were rocket-like light orbs and lasers that transported audience members to another world.
The standout element of the concert was the no phone policy. When I walked into the concert, they gave me a lockable Yondr pouch in which I placed my phone before entering the arena. Then, after the concert, they used a magnet to unlock the phone from the pouch. I found this interesting when I first heard about it, but now I wish every concert would do it. Without having my phone, I was fully immersed in the music itself. It forced me to pay attention to all aspects of the performance (like the opener, Alex G), meet the people around me, and ultimately, stay present in the moment. Because I didn’t have my phone, I was not worried about the time that had passed. I was not worried about savoring the moment with a photo or video. All that I was focused on during the concert was Bridgers and myself.
Going into the concert, I knew it was going to be emotional, given the nature of Bridgers’ music. She is known for writing heartbreaking lyrics, and this album is no exception. When I first found Bridgers, I was starting middle school, and although the music then was sad, now, having had so many more life experiences, it has changed the way I hear her songs.
One of her surprise songs of the night was “Waiting Room” – a song I don’t think I’ve listened to in over four years. When she played it, I felt fully transformed into the girl I was back then, but it also made me realize how much I’ve grown. The songs felt like she was playing them for me, reminding me to “know it’s for the better,” like she writes in “Waiting Room,” and to “live through it to get to this moment,” as Bridgers reminds us in “Graceland Too.” I walked into the concert with a broken heart but left knowing that the way it used to be is not the way it is now, like she sings about in her song “Never Going Back!” Songs from her new album give me strength to accept aspects of the difficult cycles of healing and starting over.
When talking to the audience about making the sacrifice of giving up their phones for a couple of hours, Bridgers explained that this album is about grief and loss, and for her sake, she didn’t want to be recorded while being so personal with the audience. I think that this is a very respectable reason to have a no phone concert. However, I don’t even think artists need a reason to make the audience give up their phones and enjoy music. The concert was one of the most transformative concerts I’ve ever been to because of this policy, and I now wonder if I will ever use my phone at a concert again.
You can learn a lot from Bridgers. During the concert, I learned that heartbreak takes time to heal. I learned that human connection gets us through hard times, and music heals. But mostly, I learned that I don’t need that concert video on my phone to reflect on the experience I had with live music – the memory will live on in my mind.