The Spin: boygenius at the Ryman, 11/4/2018

“Welcome to our first show ever.” 

The Spin can’t remember who said it. Phoebe Bridgers, maybe? Or was it Julien Baker who took to the mic to announce boygenius’ first public performance since the supergroup of singer-songwriters — Bridgers, Baker and Lucy Dacus — came together in the summer? Once the crowd gathered inside the Ryman on Sunday night heard the statement, whoever said it, a storm of cheers loud enough to shake the storied auditorium's stained-glass windows rang out through the room. The three women stood side by side onstage grinning and looking out into the crowd. Their matching Manuel-esque jackets, adorned with their initials and imagery from their lyrics, sparkled under the lights.

The moment came with the feeling of “holy shit, it’s happening,” and it was the cathartic pinnacle of an already-magical evening. Prior to the trio’s highly anticipated performance of its own material, each songwriter took a turn on the historic stage performing her own material.

Though we were so sad to miss the majority of Dacus’ opening set, we arrived in time to catch her six-plus-minute closer “Night Shift” from her latest album Historian. After Dacus cried out the refrain — “You got a 9-to-5, so I’ll take a night shift / And I’ll never see you again / If I can help it” — one last time, everyone in the crowd leapt to their feet, rewarding her low, rich, powerful voice with a standing ovation. The goosebumps we had were a solid preview — we found ourselves getting them throughout the evening.

After Dacus, Bridgers moved the crowd in a different way. With the cover art for her album Stranger in the Alps (an image of a dog and a ghost) hanging behind her, she tiptoed through a set of heartbreaking, ethereal songs about depression, morbid curiosity, loneliness and love. The set included “Killer,” “Scott Street,” “Funeral” and “Georgia,” and at the end of each song there was a notable pause, almost like the audience had to find its breath again before applauding.

While Dacus is armed with a strong, unshakable croon, Bridgers’ voice is more tender and vulnerable — don’t mistake it for weak, though. While singing a cover of Gillian Welch’s “Everything Is Free” with drummer Marshall Vore, Bridgers made it clear she’s not interested in putting up with your shit when she gleefully sang an amended lyric: “If there’s something you want to hear / Fucking sing it yourself.” Both Bridgers and Vore paused for applause after delivering the line. They know everyone loves a well-placed curse.

Dacus and Bridgers had full bands, but Baker took a minimalist approach when it was her turn in the spotlight. She stood on the Ryman’s stage with only a guitar, an organ and occasional violin accompaniment by Camille Faulkner to deliver stripped-down versions of songs off both 2015’s Sprained Ankle and 2017’s Turn Out the Lights. And because it is the Ryman, she tucked in an especially sad, slow cover of Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” between her own “Go Home” and “Something.” Her voice was even bigger than we remembered it being during last year’s performance at Marathon Music Works, where she played with a band. Baker has consistently made it look easy to transition from subtle, small whispers to an engulfing howl with no warning, and that ability was on full display with the evening’s especially sparse set up. Legend has it that the Ryman is haunted, and Baker’s voice may have let a few of those spirits loose.

But at the end of her set, as the final notes of “Appointments” hung in the air, we weren’t met with a sense of finality. The three performances, as stunning as each was, were pieces of a bigger puzzle that was slowly taking shape over the course of the evening. Every line sung, every strum on a guitar had a cumulative effect, and we saw the whole picture come into focus once boygenius took the stage together.

Backed by Faulkner and members of Bridgers’ band, boygenius — a trio formed on a whim in a group text message — proved just how unstoppable women can be when they literally band together to empower one another.

The group opened their set with the subtle “Souvenir,” a slow, haunting song where each woman takes one verse. From there, the boygenius performance turned into a party, featuring all six songs off the group’s self-titled EP. Dacus led the pack for the harmony-heavy “Bite the Hand,” and Baker took the lead on “Stay Down.” Their harmonies shined the brightest in the infectious power pop gem “Me & My Dog,” a song with a Wilson Phillips-esque chorus in which Bridgers dreams of escaping earth to live in space with her dog. (Seriously: same.)

Watching boygenius take shape over the evening, and finally come together in such a celebratory fashion, felt bigger than just watching any other band. The trio’s live debut feels like tracing the start of a movement, in which women stop giving a shit about rules or being polite and start making their own damned dreams come true — with matching jackets, to boot.

See our slideshow for more photos.

In The Spin — the Scene's live review column — staffers and freelance contributors review concerts under a collective byline.

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