Living the boygenius experience
Mother Nature must have heard that the boys were back in town, because Los Angeles’ June gloom took a temporary turn for the better this past weekend, just in time for boygenius’ return. Cloudless skies and a cool summer breeze welcomed concert-goers to Brookside at the Rose Bowl June 3 for the L.A. iteration of the Re:SET Concert Series. The scenic lawn and swaying trees provided an idyllic backdrop for a day full of remarkable performances from the likes of boygenius, Clairo, Dijon and Bartees Strange.
The Re:SET Concert Series is a string of festivals that occur across the country every weekend of June. Each weekend, the festival takes place simultaneously in three cities, with each of the three headliner groups interchanging locations each day. In this way, Re:SET hopes to break away from the “cookie-cutter” nature of summer tours and festivals, providing audiences with a conflict-free “leisurely day” of music from artists they love.
The L.A. festivities began June 2, with Steve Lacy performing alongside James Blake, Toro Y Moi and Fousheé. These performances continued on Sunday and were led by LCD Soundsystem, with Jamie XX, Idles and Big Freedia.
Throughout the weekend, these three groups would alternate headlining performances in San Diego, L.A. and the Bay Area, partnering with Propeller to auction VIP upgrades at each show in support of local charities.
A swarm of fans flocked to the Rose Bowl for Saturday’s L.A. show, a parade of personal style and homemade merch, with multiple fans boasting DIY T-shirts with lyrics from their boygenius favorites. Bartees Strange kicked off the afternoon with a powerful set, blending soulful ballads like “Stone Meadows” with modern indie rock and emo-inspired tracks like “Boomer.”
Dijon soon followed, projecting an eagle-eye view of his stage setup, reminiscent of the studio depicted in the cover for his debut album “Absolutely.” His set felt like a jam session, as the audience bounced to his and the band’s harmonic grooves during tracks like “Talk Down,” “The Dress” and “Big Mike’s.”
As the sun fell, Clairo ushered in the night with her trademark vulnerability, turning out a simultaneously heart-wrenching and crowd-pleasing setlist. She took the audience on an emotional roller coaster, sandwiching the deeply personal “Alewife” between crowd favorites “North” and “Softly,” even playing “Little Changes” live for the first time since September. She ended the night with a rapturous performance of “Bags” that had the entire lawn dancing in unison, leaving them revved-up and ready for boygenius.
Representatives from the Tongva tribe sang a blessing of the land, providing a meaningful reminder of where the beauty of the venue came from.
Stomachs dropped with every pause in the pre-show music as the sea of fans waited in restless anticipation. Suddenly, like a call to arms bursting from the speakers, sounded Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys are Back in Town.”
The lights dimmed and the crowd erupted in fervorous excitement as cameras panned to find boygenius under a spotlight off-stage, huddled around a single microphone. The magic of their friendship exists in a world of its own creation, and as Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers sang “Without You Without Them,” they welcomed the crowd to join them in this stunning reality, ushering the audience through the wardrobe and into Narnia.
They took to the stage in coordinated yet distinct Thom Browne uniforms as Baker rang in the characteristic opening strums to their song “$20.” As the song approached its pinnacle, both Bridgers and the audience broke out in an ear-rupturing crescendo of symphonic screams, with every person in attendance yelling “I know you have $20!” at the top of their lungs.
“It was a very communal experience,” said Miranda Shapiro, a fan of the band who attended Saturday’s concert. “Everyone was screaming together and dancing together, especially during ‘Not Strong Enough,’ [it] was really fun with a bunch of people.”
The band held the audience in a trance for nearly two hours as they performed their entire discography, including all 18 songs from their debut EP “boygenius” and recently released album “the record.” Even so, the crowd begged for more, and the band returned for an encore. The night ended with Dacus’ “Please Stay,” Baker’s “Favor” and Bridgers’ “Graceland Too” as every member performed a song from each of their solo catalogs.
“My favorite thing about boygenius is that, even though they’re all artists I love individually, I feel like they find ways to work in their own styles together and just create something so unique to them,” said Faith Bennett, another fan of the band. “I feel like you can hear a blend of each person’s music in every song, and I think it’s just the coolest thing ever.”
The band’s camaraderie is truly one of a kind. If it wasn’t already clear from the harmony in their music, it was made clearer by the looks of pure joy on their faces and their interactions on stage.
“You get to see how much they all love each other, which is such a special thing,” said Shapiro about seeing the band perform live. “Especially during ‘Graceland Too’ when [Phoebe] was staring at Julien, singing to her, that was so beautiful to see.”
Multiple group hugs occurred throughout the show, one of which resulted in Bridgers and Dacus tackling each other to the floor, pulling a guitar-wielding Baker down with them mid-shred during the climatic ending of “Salt in the Wound.” Their love for each other is seeped into the fabric of the band, and is exactly what makes them so special.
“Just seeing how much they care about each other, seeing them hugging and interacting on stage, you can tell they’re friends,” said Kyla Gordon, fan of the band and a USC sophomore majoring in earth and environmental sciences. “I think it just added so much to the experience.”