Phoebe Bridgers Took My Phone and Made Me Cry

Image Courtesy: Madeline Dertouzos

I spent over six hours with my phone locked away in order to attend a sold out Phoebe Bridgers concert at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

And before you ask… yes, it was the best concert I’ve ever been to. 

With three sold out shows and many more stops to go, there was one thing artist Phoebe Bridgers asked of her attending “Pharbs”, leave your phones at the door.

Or in this case, in a neon green pouch that says YONDR and locks magnetically.

Before the concert, I pondered why Bridgers might have decided to take this approach; maybe she had exclusive content, or secret guests. But what Bridgers announced to the estimated 17-19,000 attendees, was a much more earnest reason. 

Bridgers took a moment to talk about how a few years back, she suddenly was getting much more attention than she was used to… attention that did not mix well with the sudden passing of her father; with whom she shared she had a complicated relationship with. 

“I almost quit,” I remember her saying, “So thank you for sacrificing your phones for the evening”. 

There was just one thing she got wrong… “sacrifice” is the last word I would use. 

Having no other choice but to absorb everything around me was none other than a much needed experience. Seeing the stage change and spin to accommodate the different themes and feeling the lights and colors on my face rather than watch it through my phone was something I will never forget. The evening was not only a visually beautiful one, with incredible set design and stage presence, but an emotional one as well. 

I first discovered Bridger's music (and her side projects like the band Boygenius) in 2020 thanks to my dad. The first time I saw Bridgers live was in Ybor Florida, with my dad. My dad, the concert fanatic, who always seemed to know the upcoming next best artist before anyone else did. 

Now, I won't lie, it’s a strange feeling to go from having Phoebe Bridgers in common with my dad, to having losing a dad in common with Phoebe Bridgers. 

But that strangely made the concert mean more to me. 

Connecting with an artist like Bridgers sometimes means having a shared personal experience, more often than not, one of a sad or melancholy nature. But Bridgers is honestly the perfect person to share those experiences with. She unites the people who feel out of place, the ones who feel lost or misunderstood, she writes the words many of us merely think but never say into beautifully tragic songs. Songs that make you want to stick your head out the window of the passenger's side and feel the wind blow in your face while you turn up the volume. 

Her desire to not be recorded encouraged us all to truly feel the music she was playing for us. To think about why we were there and what it means. I thought about my dad, the one person I would have wanted to record something for, and how he didn't need a video of his favorite songs because he was right there with me. He was there, in the songs she played and the tears I let fall while thinking of him. That's all the proof I needed. 

I have never enjoyed a concert more, and I don’t think I am alone in saying that. No one was worried about catching everything on video (pun intended) so instead, with hands free, Pharbs could be seen sketching what they saw, holding hands and dancing, screaming along to every word–simply living in the moment. 

Not having access to your phone was truly an experience, one I quickly realized no one has anymore. But for some, a device-less concert is not such a new concept.

Seated next to me that night, was a couple that were around their early sixties. Another reminder of my dad and the notion that there once was a time when the ability to record every little thing simply didn't exist. 

I’m ashamed to admit that for our newer generations being so digitally advanced, we are pretty disconnected.  

I think Bridgers, and other artists enacting similar device restrictions, are truly onto something. A device-less concert allows for deeper connection with the artist, the music, the fellow concert goers and more importantly, with yourself. 

I hope more artists follow suit and try encouraging a more "analog" experience. At this point, we all need a break in order to truly experience the moments around us; and this concert just proves to me that there are no excuses. If we’ve done it before, we can do it again. Device-less concerts are possible and in my opinion, a better experience.

But who am I to say it was the best. After all, there isn't any proof… I guess you'll just have to take my word for it.

Strike out,

Madeline Dertouzos

Boca Raton

Madeline Dertouzos is a content writer for Strike Magazine Boca. She’s an extroverted introvert who will probably ask to see your birth chart within a few minutes of meeting you. If she's not buying another book she doesn't need or drinking her third coffee of the day, she is definitely with her cat Olive (just ask, she will show you pictures). You can reach her at dertouzosmadeline@gmail.com or on Instagram @madelinedertouzos.