by Taea Seigler

I recently had the privilege of attending indie rockstar Phoebe Bridgers’ “Lost” tour at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Oct. 28. It was beyond magical and the most uniquely unforgettable concert I’d ever seen for a multitude of reasons, largely because it was the first concert I’d ever attended with a strict no-device policy, and I loved it.

Before entering the venue, attendees had to secure their phones in Yondr pouches, a lockable fabric pouch that can only be opened with a specialized magnet. Phone use was limited to certain places outside the stage area, where staff would open and relock them for guests throughout the night. During the show, Bridgers thanked fans for unplugging for the night and explained that it was a decision born out of both a rejection of technology in the ever-growing expanse of AI and a desire to have no record of the tour — due to its deeply personal nature as a tribute to her recently deceased father.

Personally, I had no issue giving up my phone for the three and a half hour concert. It was a relief to not worry about taking pictures and just focus on the enchanting performance, which exceeded my expectations. The setlist was a perfect combination of her old and new work, I got to hear all my favorites. Most notably, she performed a cover of Bo Burnham’s “That Funny Feeling,” her first time doing so since 2021.

Each song was accompanied by a dreamlike light show that I struggle to find the words to describe. Bridgers has a lyric in her song “As Above” that goes, “You don’t have to believe in magic, leave it to me to make it happen,” and all I could think was, she certainly made it happen. There was a fog machine going on all night, catching the light rays in such a way that it looked like something metaphysical. There were times the fog appeared waterlike, light danced like shooting stars across the venue, illuminating fans from the floor to the nosebleeds. During particularly slow songs, some fans held up lighters in place of phone lights, lighting the stadium like a night sky.

It was breathtakingly beautiful, I cried so hard my tears started draining into my sinuses. Despite the venue’s 19,000 seat capacity, the show felt intimate, likely because of the lack of phone screens obscuring my view. I hope to see more artists adopting this policy going forward, as it truly made the night something special.