There was a boygenius reunion of sorts last weekend, with Phoebe Bridgers calling upon her part-time bandmate and close friend Julien Baker during a show in California on Saturday (October 16) to perform two set-closing tracks.
The gig took place at the William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California, as part of the "Phoebe Bridgers Reunion Tour," which had previously featured guest acts Bartees Strange and MUNA.
Baker had been the show's surprise opening act, performing a number of songs from her three studio albums – Sprained Ankle (2015), Turn Out The Lights (2017) and Little Oblivions (2021) – and closing her own set by calling upon Bridgers for a cover of Loudon Wainwright III’s One Man Guy.
The stripped back rendition of One May Guy saw Baker take up acoustic guitar duties, while Bridgers shared the vocal responsibilities and supplied some sweet supporting harmonies.
Her support set was followed by Bridgers’ own headline slot, which was crammed with tracks from Stranger In The Alps (2017) and Punisher (2020), such as Motion Sickness, Garden Song and Kyoto.
And, just when fans were beginning to think they had witnessed all the Bridgers/Baker action that was in store for them that evening, the former called upon her boygenius bandmate for two more tracks.
The first, a haunting run-through of Graceland Too, was followed by I Know The End, which saw Bridgers wield her Danelectro baritone (not the one she smashed up at SNL and subsequently sold for charity) alongside the Telecaster-toting Baker.
Fans of the studio version will no doubt be familiar with the track’s disarming sense of sonic security, conjured up via some gorgeous guitars and Bridgers’s commanding voice, which eventually gives way to a raucous, pyrotechnic-equipped finale filled with thrashing fretboard flourishes and vocal wails.
Posting to Instagram after the event, Baker wrote, “Magical night. Such a pleasure to see some wildly talented pals rip an incredible gig.
“Thank you Phoebe Bridgers and co for having me out to join y’all and for making space/time for singing some songs together. It’s nice not to always be a One Man Guy.”
Bridgers and Baker, along with their fellow bandmate Lucy Dacus, released boygenius's self-titled debut EP in 2018.
And, despite solely operating as a trio thus far, earlier this year Bridgers admitted her admiration for Big Thief lead vocalist and guitarist Adrianne Lenker and said she would be an "ideal fourth member" for the group.
To find a full list of Phoebe Bridgers tour dates, head over to her official website.
