This bond between bandmates draws crowds as reliably as the group’s sentimental catalogue. Though the singers have somewhat resisted the term, Boygenius is a supergroup, formed in 2018 by three songwriters who were, as they have said, all fans of one another’s work. After releasing a lovelorn self-titled EP and embarking on a handful of national tour dates, the members parted ways to pursue other projects, until the coronavirus pandemic brought them back together with a new artistic purpose, one more focused on platonic love than self-destructive romance. Boldly named “The Record,” the ensuing album shot up the charts following its March release.
For some, the voyeuristic desire to watch celebrities confess their interwoven adoration is what locks eyes firmly on Boygenius. And it’s an angle the band plays into: Their set, which Baker has admitted is partially choreographed, is full of physical interaction. Bridgers and Baker played several instrumental breaks forehead to forehead, as close as they could get while each handling a guitar. During Baker’s solo in “Ketchum, ID,” Bridgers and Dacus collapsed into a tussle on the ground, limbs flailing.
Though these moments (which have been replicated at each show on their tour so far) are maybe manufactured, the group’s image doesn’t feel disingenuous. The musical chemistry was obvious right away Friday, when they fired through the album’s two foremost rockers, “$20” and “Satanist,” with a decisive confidence that showcased just how much experience these performers have.
The latter tune gives each singer a verse to describe personal insecurities — defying tongue-in-cheek self-identifications as Satanist, nihilist and anarchist. When the three voices join at the end, it’s a plea for understanding, a nod to the fear and euphoria of being known. They harmonize: “You wonder if you can even be seen from so far away/ A slow pull, a seismic drift/ Leanin’ over the edge of the continent.”
Playing their two most upbeat songs back-to-back at the top of the show risked a lag in the rest of the performance. But during weighty, slower reminiscences such as the Dacus-led “True Blue” and “We’re in Love,” the crowd gladly swayed, rapt, swallowing the abundant wordplay in the lyrics.
These songs, too, have nods to the notion of real understanding between friends and lovers, something of a theme in the Boygenius canon. That understanding comes in no small part because of the group’s unique position of featuring an all-female, all-queer membership. Even the band name is a reference to their need for a creative space free of a specific brand of male reverence, the kind where boys are hailed for every thought, while women are, as Baker told Newsweek, “socialized to make themselves small.” As if to punctuate that point, the band, including three more female musicians who stayed mostly in the shadows, all wore schoolgirl outfits on Friday.
Another moment of irony came during “Bite the Hand,” a barely restrained confession of frustration about the parasocial and sometimes invasive fan base: swooping crowd shots appeared on-screen under the outline of a gun’s scope. As concertgoers cheered and sang along, performing for the cameras, it felt as if maybe they understood that the relationship between fan and performer is actually best served via art. (Eerily noted: Before the concert ended, Twitter and TikTok filled with zoomed-in photos of the band members’ rumored love interests, who were watching in VIP boxes.)
If the crowd listened carefully, they’d know that Baker, Bridgers and Dacus are already baring all, right there onstage. They’d know that we’re already privy to a snapshot of the band’s unique intimacy every time they pick up their guitars.