Phoebe Bridgers is currently earning universal praise for her arena tour, yet experiencing the shows in person is the only way to truly witness them. Her strict policy of banning phones from the venue means there is essentially no visual record available to those who did not attend. While it is known that she joined forces with boygenius bandmates Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus during a recent Brooklyn concert, that specific reunion went undocumented. Instead, audiences can now observe the trio performing together in a striking new live clip from A24’s Sound Check At Cherry Lane Theater series.
The Cherry Lane program typically pairs musicians with prominent directors, previously matching Tame Impala with Sean Durkin. Bridgers is currently starring in her first feature film performance alongside Robert Pattinson in Primetime, the unsettling new To Catch A Predator adaptation now in theaters, and her turn has been widely praised. It marks the feature debut of Lance Oppenheim, a documentary filmmaker who also co-directed Nathan Fielder’s highly anticipated Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything and directed the visual for Bridgers’ “Lost Boys,” the lead single from her acclaimed new album Lost Weekend. Oppenheim has now directed her Cherry Lane session as well, and the effect is immediately apparent.
The session begins with Bridgers delivering a haunting rendition of “On Video,” a track from the Primetime soundtrack, supported only by longtime collaborator Ethan Gruska on piano. Illuminated by blue lighting beside a stack of tube televisions, the visual tone mirrors the hypnotic, chaotic film stock aesthetic Oppenheim applied to Primetime. Following that track, Baker and Dacus—both of whom made significant contributions to Lost Weekend—rejoin Bridgers for acoustic interpretations of “Haunted” and “Lost Boys.” During the set, Dacus operates a large video camera, capturing the moment as it happens. Their vocal harmonies continue to captivate. This feels less like a casual internet upload and more like a curated art piece, so we recommend setting aside 12 minutes to let it play.
Lost Weekend is available now via Dead Oceans.
