The first thing you notice about Phoebe Bridger’s Lost Tour is how much of the stage space you can’t originally see. A huge white orb sits over the main stage, while a suspended orb hangs over stage B on the opposite end of Bridgestone Arena. Before Phoebe was on, the two structures looked closer to something I’d see in E.T. instead of anything for concert production. After Alex G’s intense set with concise lighting, Phoebe came out while “The Outside” played, as the orb began to glow and open slowly. Her first full performance was of “Motion Sickness,” which immediately filled the room with the 9-piece band on stage. 

The production was honestly the most ambitious part of the Lost Tour, and, more importantly, it has a point of view. The dome isn’t irrelevant after opening, visuals are projected onto it as it tilts, changes color and becomes a surface for the crowd with a limited view to see Bridgers’s sing. During “Moon Song,” the structure turned into a massive moon, which worked as she committed to the image rather than just winking at it. Otherwise, the orb beams throughout the arena, making the show feel larger than it already is if it wasn’t currently choosing me to be a victim of temporarily blinding me. Overall, this addition made this show feel like I was in some sort of planetarium. 

What impressed me most in tandem with this planetarium feel was the restraint in lighting at points to make an impression. On a song like “Funeral,” darkness and stillness show that less is more to further bring you into Phoebe’s world from the B stage, which is a great change of scale. During her run of songs on this stage, Phoebe is directly under the unconventional orb, on a stage that spins so slow that you almost don’t notice as a smoke hologram projected down dances around her. It’s a clever touch to be seen more in the middle of the whole venue without having to look at a screen as a drawback, and a touch that honestly Phoebe didn’t even need with the size and execution of the A stage display. 

The phone-free policy made the lighting more effective, too. Without thousands of screens competing with the stage, the sporadic lighting from the orb feels more immersive. During her chaotic performance of “I Know the End,” the crowds screams are not punctuated or hindered by people worried about how their recording will look or sound. You can see the audience. Getting into and out of Bridgestone is slower because of these phone pouches, which is a frustrating trade-off especially on exit, but all in all I found the experience refreshing. 

The night was most surprising during “Best Dressed,” which I hadn’t seen performed on her previous setlists as Christian Lee Hutson joined the stage to debut and duet the original version. I’m seeing Hutson open for Hovvdy soon and am very excited for his set after seeing him here. His guest appearance with Phoebe connected this huge production to the smaller circuit I usually follow, which I feel is important to highlight, even if the entire crowd didn’t pick up on it. 

My favorite song of the night was the full band performing “Kyoto,” highlighting a wider, rock-heavy take on the song than the studio version I and many others love. After the end of the main set with “I Know the End,” the encore from the B stage highlighted “Scott Street” with everyone in the building waving their hands to the hook to end the night.  

Overall, the best part of The Lost Tour was how immersive it felt, as the phone-free show stresses how much detail and effort went into all aspects of production for each song. That kind of attention was refreshing and rarer than it ought to be.