boygenius at Brooklyn Steel
photo by Amanda Hatfield

Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers & Lucy Dacus brought 'boygenius' to NYC (pics, review)

After kicking off their tour together in Nashville on Sunday, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus headed to NYC to make their television debut on Late Night with Seth Meyers (performing “Me and My Dog”), and for two nights of shows at Brooklyn Steel. Tuesday (11/6) night’s show started with individual sets from Julien, Phoebe, and Lucy, beginning with Lucy, who debuted a new song solo before inviting her band out to join her. The songs from her very good 2018 album Historian take on a rocking edge live, while Lucy’s voice is a warm blanket narrating their stories.

Phoebe Bridgers was up next with a somber set (and mood lighting to match) made up mostly of the songs from her excellent 2017 debut Stranger in the Alps. She also played an older song, “Steamroller,” and covered Gillian Welch’s “Everything is Free” with her drummer Marshall Vore, calling it “my favorite song ever written about music streaming.” Then Julien Baker came out, joined at points by Camille Falkner on violin, for a powerful set of her sad, affecting songs. Julien’s voice has the power to quiet crowds, and even a larger venue like Brooklyn Steel immediately hushed under its sway. Talking about touring with Phoebe and Lucy, Julien said, “they’re two of my favorite artists in the world and two of my favorite people in the world.”

The love and camaraderie between the three was palpable when they came back out together to play the songs off their joint EP, boygenius. Born out of the idea to record a 7″ as merch for their tour together, Julien, Phoebe and Lucy realized they had more material than they anticipated, and their collaborative work blends the best of each into something entirely new and vital. The rich harmonies of “Me and My Dog” sounded sublime live, and when all three women gathered around a single mic to close the night with “Ketchum, ID,” it was with all the power of their shared understanding and melancholy over the rigors of life on tour. It was even better having just witnessed lighthearted moments between the three, like Lucy and Phoebe exaggeratedly bowing down to Julien and pulling out lighters while she shredded on guitar.

Check out pictures from Tuesday night’s show in the gallery above, and the setlists, and video clips, below. Julien, Phoebe, and Lucy return to Brooklyn Steel tonight (11/7), and if you don’t have tickets, you can also stream the show live via Pitchfork.

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Setlist: Lucy Dacus @ Brooklyn Steel, 11/6/2018 (via)
new song
Addictions
The Shell
Nonbeliever
Yours & Mine
Night Shift
Historians

Setlist: Phoebe Bridgers @ Brooklyn Steel, 11/6/2018 (via)
Smoke Signals
Funeral
Georgia
Demi Moore
Killer
Steamroller
Everything Is Free (Gillian Welch cover)
Motion Sickness
Scott Street

Setlist: Julien Baker @ Brooklyn Steel, 11/6/2018 (via)
Sprained Ankle
Everybody Does
Rejoice
Even
Televangelist
Hurt Less
Go Home
Something
Sour Breath
Turn Out the Lights
Appointments

Setlist: boygenius @ Brooklyn Steel, 11/6/2018 (via)
Souvenir
Bite The Hand
Stay Down
Me & My Dog
Salt in the Wound
Ketchum, ID