boygenius - The Record (March 31, 2023) • Page 55

Phoebe solo crowds are brutal

 

Also have to agree the crowd on Saturday was really great

 

I also didn't have any real issues with Phoebe's crowd when I saw her. I was in the pit but pretty far to the back of it so idk maybe the issues are at the front?

 

The issues are definitely at the front, at least now, because when Phoebe played Letter in Chicago she had everyone put their phones down but people at barricade were trying to be sneaky and still record so she took someone’s phone and smashed it to the ground, or so that’s what I was told by someone who was closer to barricade than I was. There was another instance at the Chicago show where someone grabbed on to her arm and wouldn’t let go even when she kept trying to pull away.

 

i wont subject myself to another phoebe crowd anytime soon lol

the worst most obnoxious behavior

 

I was in the lawn for Phoebe and it was terrible. Most of the crowd out there talked through her entire set.

 

I’ve seen Phoebe 3 times and Boygenius twice (all post pandemic) and they’ve all been pretty chill crowds thank god

 

First Phoebe solo crowd in 2018 was great, second one in 2022 was not

 

I just don’t want this shit to spill over to Julien’s solo shows

 

Not convinced even half of the problematic Phoebe/Boygenius stans have ever visited a Julien album

 

the only time i've seen Julien was in 2018 at an old theater built in the 1800s

 

It was so nice seeing them in a theater in 2018 and having basically everyone just listening and not screaming over the music. I wish there were an opportunity to hear them like that again, but I know it's different now in terms of the scope of their sound and popularity. I'm glad people feel so strongly about them, but it is pretty annoying to not be able to hear the harmonies because everyone feels like they're the one who should be heard instead (in addition to the frustration at a lot of these people not having other basic concert etiquette skills).

 

I just switched my tickets to pit because I couldn't handle seeing carly rae jepsen and not dance in the crowd but I'll prob back off for boygenius cause it's gonna be a million degrees probably and this is a young people's game!

 

I just feel like if your problem is people singing too loudly around you, then move further back where it's usually more chill Idk it's just baffling cus I've seen Phoebe twice since she's blown up and now boygenius and I haven't had these awful experiences everyone else seems to.

 

The problem I’ve been experiencing at both Phoebe and Boygenius shows are people repeatedly passing out and songs having to get restarted once or twice. The boygenius show wasn’t even remotely hot out. What is going on with these youths post-Covid?

 

Water is $8 a bottle so people aren't staying hydrated, someone passed out when I saw Julien

I'm also very easily dehydrated so I'm big on drinking lots of water

 

I'm concerned about the sun exposure tbh! Last time I went to this venue I was a youth at warped tour who hadn't yet taken college level biology and learned about skin cancer and now I practically bathe in sunscreen but still don't want all that exposure even with sunscreen smh lol

 

Yall are gonna catch me in the pit like

 

Not sure where your show is but at least on the East Coast after 5pm-ish the sun isn’t as strong and you don’t need as much protection from it. I still use sunscreen if I know I’m gonna be out there for a few hours even after 5pm though

 

I don’t think it’s really exclusive to these bands though. It does seem to be a problem with the younger crowds in general, and that’s its own issue. But I think people around here associate it with Phoebe herself more than it really is. And even then like.. I mean it’s annoying but it doesn’t really ruin the night does it?

 

This was a pretty memorable two-song stretch from last weekend.

I have to assume it's not purely Phoebe-specific, but I've gone to like 50 shows in the past two years, and the only other non-Phoebe one I can think of that's had a medical issue was someone having a seizure at an Underoath show. It could be that I've mostly gone to shows with slightly older audiences, but I've seen Lucy and Julien like 10 times total in that window without anything like this happening (other than at the boygenius one).

 

It’s certainly more odd and annoying than a problem. Definitely not ruining the night, but when the artist is clearly getting frustrated (boygenius at Forest Hills) when they have to stop the same song twice, it does mess with the atmosphere for a bit.

Maybe this was happening at the shows I attended in the 2000s/2010s and artists just didn’t notice or care the way they do now (this is certainly better than not looking out for your fans or fellow concertgoer), but these are chill shows where there is zero pushing and plenty of space open between one another, yet people are dropping like flies in cool weather at night.

Generally curious about why it’s occurring since younger people seem way smarter than previous generations (specifically Millennials like myself) when it comes to binge drinking and dehydration at shows. Someone else mentioned the price of water and that just sucks if people can’t afford to have a safe experience because of greed.

 

I was at the Forest Hills show too and while being safe and caring about fans is definitely a good thing and needed, it did get a bit annoying when it happened multiple times. The same thing happened at least three times at the Phoebe show last year in Prospect Park.

 

You could tell Lucy in particular was annoyed. She was like, “We are NOT starting this song over this time.” It made me laugh.

Actually, when I saw Lucy last summer in Central Park someone passed out literally ten seconds into the show. She sang one line and had to stop! Obviously safety first but it was such a vibe killer lol. That was actually a hot late July day though unlike the boygenius Forest Hills show and Phoebe’s shows last year which were in mid-June.