Sloppy Jane opens for Phoebe Bridgers

by Ashley Farnie

Music Director

Since Punisher’s release in 2020, Phoebe Bridgers stans, myself included, have been awaiting the album’s tour. Punisher’s emotional transparency soundtracked many of our quarantine beginnings, breeding a generation of depressed adolescents. Opening with a cinematic overture and closing with an orchestrated ballad that builds into screams, two years were spent imagining the potential of Punisher onstage. Thankfully, Phoebe set out on her Reunion Tour accompanied by artists on her label, Saddest Factory Records.

The SFR artist opening for Phoebe differs by city on the tour, and Austin, TX was graced with the presence of Sloppy Jane. Sloppy Jane performed at SXSW for the SFR showcase, but set lengths were shortened to allow for more performances. This time, Sloppy Jane’s theatrical presence lived to its full potential, with a stage size adequate for their ensemble.

Stepping out in her signature royal blue velvet suit, Haley Dahl assumes her position to conduct her orchestra. Sighs of surprise and excitement resounded from the pit of teenage girls behind me. Sloppy Jane recorded their latest album, Madison, inside of a cave, and the acoustics of Austin’s Moody Amphitheater came close to doing it justice – or maybe I was just leaning against the speaker to take pictures. The orchestra crescendos into the finale of “Party Anthem,” and Haley’s stage presence comes to life.

Before stripping down to her boots and bodysuit, Haley escapes to the edge of the stage, returning with streams of blue glitter tears down her cheeks. Sloppy Jane showcases their diversity and complexity, transitioning into “Where’s My Wife,” a hard rock anthem from their debut album Willow. Haley screams and runs across the stage while the orchestra members take turns on the mic, contributing to the repetitive chorus of the song, and adding to the camaraderie of the band’s onstage presence.

Sloppy Jane exists beyond the limits of genre , exhibiting their range sonically from melodic psalms to screaming rock, and musically, from diverse song structures to rhythmic variations. I think all of Austin can agree that we would like a Sloppy Jane headline tour in the near future<3

Phoebe strums the first chord of her most streamed track, “Motion Sickness,” and high-pitched screams arise throughout Waterloo Park to the rooftops of surrounding parking garages, where fans look through binoculars to glimpse at the sold-out show. Backgrounded by a digital starry night sky and illuminated by a golden glow, Phoebe brings the Punisher energy to her debut album, Stranger in the Alps, concluding the bridge with an impassioned scream.

A storybook appears atop the night sky reading “Punisher,” covered in sketches relating to the album’s lyrics, transitioning to the performance of her latest independent record.  As Phoebe turns to face the crowd, the storybook unfolds and reveals itself as a pop-up book. A grassland appears, scattered with various types of trees and a wooden bridge overarching a river. The scenic forest – or shall I say, garden, – paints a visualization of “Garden Song,” track two on the album and second song of the night.

The rhythmic picking pattern that endures throughout “Garden Song” reverberates off the concrete structures of the venue, while Phoebe’s airy vocals steadily carry her vulnerable melodies. The lights wrapped around the microphone stand make visible her strumming an acoustic guitar, singing, “I have everything I want.”

Phoebe swaps the acoustic for a geometrically intricate electric guitar and dedicates the next song to the dads. The storybook flips to a depiction of Kyoto incorporating lyrical elements of the song: the payphone from where her dad called, the truck her dad let her and her little brother drive, and a cherry blossom, emblematic of Japan. Phoebe’s “woo” after the first chorus gains applause and the trumpet bridges the lyrical gap while the band picks up pace.

“Kyoto”’s high point lulls to the piano melody of the title track, “Punisher,” and Phoebe abandons her instrument. A glowing outline of mountains appears atop the starry screen shone with purple lights, stripping the performance into piano and Phoebe’s voice. Phoebe steps offstage to sing to the sobbing girls clutched to the barricade, grasping hands with a sixteen-year-old whose life has now been made.

Following the order of the album, orange lights come up and the storybook flips to a cemetery scene with a trick-or-treating ghost for “Halloween.” Phoebe and guitarist Harrison Whitford alternate singing “whatever you want” through the close of the song, harmonizing as in the recording.

Phoebe tells the audience this song was inspired by religious picketers, then draws attention to the current crisis at-hand and offers suggestions for further information. The storybook flips to the skyline of a city hovered by a “Chinese Satellite.”

A full moon appears in the starry sky, and the storybook turns its page to [look at fuji]. My content of “Moon Song,” my favorite song from the record, consists of my screaming the lyrics and my unsteady camera attempting to focus on Phoebe while I tried to see through the tears. The storybook fades offscreen and the moon centers itself in the night sky.

Interspersed between Punisher tracks, Phoebe played “Smoke Signals” and “Scott Street” from her debut album, as well as her latest single for the Hulu adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Conversations With Friends, “Sidelines.” The screen graphic turns into a video of the single cover for “Sidelines,” portraying her grandpa riding a bull. The black and white graphics onscreen focused the performance on the emotion of the love song, something Phoebe says is new for her typical cynic self.

Exemplified by the t-shirt for sale at the merch table that reads “I hate your mom,” Phoebe dedicates “ICU” to those who struggle with parental political conflicts.

Phoebe invites Sloppy Jane back on stage as the orchestra for the final track on Punisher and finale of the show. Phoebe begins the opening lines and the Austin crowd overpowers her voice, screaming along, “man, I hate this part of Texas.” “I Know The End” starts out [word choice] with melodic verses, akin to the sound of “Savior Complex.” The song then picks up with steady guitar strumming while the violin and drums transform the song into an American (dare I say anti-?) anthem. The trumpet’s crescendo brings forth the onset of screams and an onstage mosh by the members of the two bands onstage.

Phoebe’s abrupt departure from the stage was followed shortly after by her solo return for an encore. After asking Austin what we want to hear, Phoebe retrieves a pink cowboy hat from the pit and sings “Georgia” on acoustic guitar.

Phoebe’s onstage performance and visual representations of Punisher add a new dimension to the album’s meaning. With the tracks performed in the order of the album, Phoebe establishes Punisher as a complete work dependent upon chronology. Phoebe’s Reunion Tour continues throughout the month of August, with nearly half of the dates already sold out. Charlie Hickey will accompany Phoebe for the next set of tour dates, followed by Claud, MUNA, and, finally, Christian Lee Hutson. Catch Phoebe live if you have the chance and be sure to stream albums in order.