i'll give everything i've got/please take what i can give
Last time boygenius came through town way back in November of 2018 things were a little different. And, like, that's putting aside the myriad of stuff that's not directly related to the band.
They played the Commodore--capacity 1,000--and the show was billed as "Julien Baker and Pheobe Bridgers with Lucy Dacus," because I'm not sure enough people would've known what was happening if they were just billed under the shared band name. But also, with just a self-titled EP to their shared credit, the bulk of the show really was the three individual sets (although the combined mini-set to close things out did highlight the night).
This time around, they played the PNE Ampitheatre, a venue that can hold about seven times what the Commodore can. That show poster just said "boygenius" at the top and that's all they needed to sell the whole place out weeks in advance. The set featured just a single song each from each individual artist. That EP, as good as it is, seemed like a fun excuse for three friends to tour together, but now they're supporting a critically acclaimed full length. Also, their opener has a Billboard Hot 100 #1 on her resume.
Illuminati Hotties started things off at the very un-rock and roll hour of 5:50pm, although Sarah Tudzin did her best to rock out anyways. We were still making our way in when they kicked things off with their (really great) latest single, "Truck." The energy amped up from there, with "Pool Hopping" from 2021's Let Me Do One More highlighting a very brief set.
I think we were standing by Carly Rae Jepsen's family, some of whom were very cute in their CRJ garb. Maybe it's because I haven't been to an outdoor show in awhile, but the sun beating down on a glorified parking lot didn't exactly feel like the best venue for songs like "All That" and "Run Away With Me." Still, at this point, the pride of Mission's a veteran pro, and she showed it, tearing through a 15-song set that confidently plunked "Call Me Maybe" dead centre.
I'm too old to really have an idea of how popular bands are with young people. I know the band's core audience is much younger than me and obviously they're getting pretty huge in general if they're playing MSG on this tour. But man, people fucking love boygenius.
Don't get me wrong, if you asked me, I would say that I love boygenius, but I don't really fall in love with new bands the same way I did when I was 15 or 25 or even 30. Last night, the PNE was full of people who are young enough to have a new favourite band though, and it sure seemed like for many of them, boygenius is it. It was awesome to see and based on how good the Record is and how good the band sounded performing it (and they performed all of it plus all of the EP, plus an unreleased the Record outtake), it's easy to understand why their popularity is exploding.
There's this infectious joy just radiating from that stage too. They look like they're having the best time up there and the crowd was more than happy to give all that energy back to them. All in all, it was one of those shows that felt pretty special.
now playing: Jenny Owen Youngs - Knife Went In
