What if you went to a concert and you had no photos, videos or any evidence that you went?
Phoebe Bridgers fans are experiencing exactly this phenomenon, with her policy of no phones allowed in concert venues. At first, some fans were skeptical about her no-phone policy.
“Concerts are expensive, [so people] should have that opportunity to save it in that way,” said OH senior Delaney Segarra, “It was a unique experience that I wouldn’t have gotten to have otherwise.”
Other fans, like those from OH who attended her concert at the United Center in September, were surprised with this experience. They learned that that without phones, you really live in the moment.
“Once it actually happened, it made the experience so much better,” said OH junior Sadie Dufur.
As phones have been a constant in our generations lives, we have been able to access phones at concerts. When videos are posted of a concert on the internet, it is usually flooded with comments about other people’s opinions.
This overload of other’s views can persuade the audience to form their beliefs on others, and ultimately not make the experience theirs. Without phones, fans were forced to emerge in the experience. Although the want to preserve memories is still standing, the fans decided to do something about it.
Because of the lack of footage from the concert fans have created a unique way to preserve their memories.
“People would draw the concert and make animations of the lights,” said OH junior Ruby Wickman, “It was nice to look back and be like, yeah, I was there.”
This tradition that fans have created shows how people can live in the moment without their phones and still preserve their memories.
Bridger’s new album encapsulates the feeling of undocumented memories, as she highlights aliens and space in her work. This concept was well perceived by fans as Segarra said, “it speaks to …the ideals of the performer”.
Throughout Bridger’s discography, she talks about her dad, painting a picture for her listeners of who he was as a person. This inspired her to create a phone free space, as she only has introspective memories of her dad, she wants her audience to have memories not based on recordings, but the way they felt in that moment.
Furthermore, experiences with the paranormal are famously known for not being recorded, and even if there is recording, the person that had the encounter is not believed.
As a society, we are able to access almost anything on the internet, and this overexposure of information has led us to dim our curiosity of what is really out there. This concept elevates the deeper meaning of her decision of no phones, instilling a feeling in her audience where they cannot prove this ever happened. Overall, convincing her audience that they are truly experiencing a lost weekend.
“For future [shows] that I go to, I’m gonna be recording less, and do more living in the moment,” said Wickman. Ultimately, proving Bridger’s point of how to live your life not through a screen but your own eyes, creating your own perspective.
Bridgers crafted an unforgettable experience for her fans, so unforgettable that they do not need pictures to remember the experience.
The Lost Tour has taught Bridger’s audience the importance of how disconnection actually furthers one’s connections with others.
