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The Succession Report Card is a weekly recap feature where we attempt to assign grades to the important people, things, and themes from each episode of Succession. The grades are entirely subjective and the criteria for scoring will change from week to week and occasionally mid-week. Someone might get detention. It’ll probably be Roman.

FAILING

Roman

It feels weird to put Roman in the Failing category. He had a decent episode this week, between getting off a bunch of good lines and working his little power play with Gerri and having Logan go to him to ask if Shiv is “solid.” He was kind enough to pick up pastries from the airport. Things have been worse for him.

And yet… not great. Logan is clearly just using him to get information on the favored children, and multiple people are saying how stupid his plan to not cooperate with the government was, and Shiv was so mean to him that he stormed out of a child’s bedroom about it all, and he called Gerri to ask for her advice about a situation that could ruin her. He remains an eight-year-old boy at all times and everyone knows it but him. I sometimes expect an episode to open with him just banging toy trucks together.

GRADE: F

MUST IMPROVE: Finishing puberty

Various Franks, Karls, and Karolinas

Just once, I want an episode where Karl and Frank go golfing together and talk a bunch of crap about their jobs. Like, that’s the whole episode. They’re just golfing and talking and taking/ignoring calls and plotting about leaving Waystar to start their own business but knowing deep down they’ll never follow through. I bet Karl is a great golfer. I bet he could shoot a 77 without hitting the range first. I bet Frank launches a dozen balls into the trees every round. I think about these things a lot.

GRADE: F

MUST IMPROVE: Career strategy, not tying their sensitive parts to runaway trains.

Tom

Tom is up to something. The wheels are turning. Shiv is hiding things and not really feeling enthused about giving him the “I love you” he needs sometimes. He sees Logan tossing children to the lions and even Greg making moves. Tom is going to do something drastic.

Or, like, he won’t. You can never tell with him. He moves from bully to coward so quickly sometimes that I wonder if this is a situation like The Prestige and there are actually two Toms. I call this the Two-Tom Theory.

GRADE: D+

MUST IMPROVE: Getting his partner to show any affection at all, not being one step away from becoming the sacrificial lamb at all times.

Kendall

Kendall does this thing where he flips back and forth between triumph and failure without ever stopping in the middle. It’s got to be an exhausting way to live. Look at the scene in his daughter’s bedroom. He has his siblings there and is giving this high-minded and borderline delusional speech about the future of the company and/or the world and thinks everything is falling into place, but then, yoink, everything goes sideways and bad and he ends up shouting the word “teets” at his sister more than once. It’s not great. He’s like if Charlie Brown had a billion dollars and a full head of hair and a lingering problem with amphetamines.

He’s back on an island now. Even Greg is wavering. He’s going to make so many sad hangdog face next week and I’m going to screencap them all. We all have a part to play.

GRADE: D

MUST IMPROVE: Remembering children’s names, not shouting things like “teets,” finding something resembling a middle ground for once in his life

TREADING WATER

Gerri

To recap:

• Was installed as CEO and took a picture of the television screen as the announcement scrolled across the ticker, as though she is not now the CEO of a massive multimedia company who can just get a copy of the video or even a hi-res screenshot emailed to her within the hour
• Is kind of getting bossed around by Roman of all people?
• Is looking more and more like a puppet who will be tossed aside at some point as a way to wash everyone’s hands of the situation

Not ideal!

GRADE: C-

MUST IMPROVE: Making screencaps.

Connor

Connor is a doofus and a zero, generally, but I’m starting to feel bad for him. A little. I think it was the face he made when Logan called him “kiddo” and “number one,” but like, lazily, like Logan couldn’t even be bothered to give it the B- manipulation he gives the other kids.

I don’t know. I need to think about this one some more. If I’m not careful, I might end up claiming he’s my favorite character on the show, just out of pity. This can’t happen. I must remain vigilant.

GRADE: C-

MUST IMPROVE: I mean, uh, just kind of “life,” generally.

Lia, Greg’s 1L friend

Imagine being her professor and getting a text from her, at night, about a legal situation involving a Fortune 500 company with political connections out the wazoo that is in the middle of a very public crisis involving sexual harassment and assault.

I suspect the reply was something like “RUN.”

GRADE: C

MUST IMPROVE: Decisions, career choice, etc.

Logan

Logan notes:

• It is deeply funny to me that at least one of his children uses a picture of Saddam Hussein for him on their phone
• Let’s all agree to try to shout the phrase “I’M LOSING JUICE” at least once this week, if only because it seems fun
• It says a lot about his relationship with his children that he can send them a dozen donuts and send them into separate and distinct tailspins about it all

Also, not a rush but still important, I need one of you to open up a little place called Relevant Donuts, preferably near my house. Nothing fancy. Just donuts and breakfast sandwiches and coffee. I’ll come every Saturday.

GRADE: C

MUST IMPROVE: Juice retention

Shiv

Real good news, bad news kind of week for Shiv. The good news is that she’s apparently getting installed as a high-ranking executive in the company to be Logan’s eyes and ears after a brief flirtation with joining Kendall, until Kendall did, you know, the whole thing Kendall does sometimes. Shiv is somehow the most competent of the Roy children and also a complete disaster who gets yo-yoed around by Logan constantly through the giving and withholding of attention/affection/respect. We are still technically in the good news section of our discussion. This speaks volumes.

The bad news is, uh, almost everything else. She’s kind of flailing right now, leaping between whichever situation looks better in the moment and having weird phone conversations with her mostly cuckolded husband and getting burned by high-powered attorneys she considers friends and kind of being juuuuuust a little too mean to Roman while lounging on a bed that belongs to her niece.

Shiv is interesting right now. Things could go a lot of different ways for her. We will continue to monitor this.

GRADE: C+

MUST IMPROVE: Not saying the meanest thing possible to people she allegedly cares about, taking responsibility

Pugh, the incredibly intransigent socialist lawyer

I feel like I am going to like this guy a lot. Still too early to tell. But meeting a new client and promptly informing him that one of your two primary goals — after his safety and protection, of course — is exposing and undermining the entire theory of capitalism using him as a wedge… I mean, yeah. I feel like I am going to like him. I hope this case ends up in front of the Supreme Court and he comes rolling into oral arguments 20 minutes late with a trail of loose papers blowing through the air behind him.

GRADE: B

MUST IMPROVE: Organization, using email

HEAD OF THE CLASS

Ewan

Ewan is here to ruin Logan and maybe save the environment and use as many large words as he can in the process. There was a thing in this episode where he described Kendall’s press conference as “histrionic and meretricious” to Greg and Greg, with no clue what either of those words meant in that context, replied, “Tell me about it.” They are a wonderful comedy team. I want them to go on a road trip together to Burning Man.

GRADE: B+

MUST IMPROVE: Longevity, if only so he gets to keep doing all of this

Cousin Greg

My sweet boy is in crisis, getting harangued by lawyers and torn between wealthy family members and worrying, adorably, if he’s too young to be getting pulled in front of Congress this much. He’s also started throwing around the word “necessarily” a lot, like it’s a little forcefield to deflect getting yelled at. He did it like four times on the phone with Tom and I started giggling a little harder each time.

All that said, and even just now remembering the thing where he heard a knock on a door and immediately went into “OH GOD WHAT NOW” panic mode, my favorite Cousin Greg moment of the week, by far, was him unfolding his lanky body out of an Uber while saying, out loud, “five stars.”

GRADE: A-

MUST IMPROVE: Leave him alone

Stewy

All Stewy does lately is take secret meetings on scenic Greek islands or on the sidewalk in stylish leather jackets or inside $100,000 SUVs while still wearing the stylish leather jacket from the sidewalk thing. I should hate everything about him, in theory. He’s just a crappy money vulture who brings nothing of value to any situation and exists to create chaos when he smells vulnerability. We could do without people like him. We’d be fine.

And yet… I love him. Very conflicting.

GRADE: A

MUST IMPROVE: I feel like Stewy should get a cat and just sit there petting it during more of his secret meetings

Jess Jordan

Jess Jordan continues to rocket up the list of characters I want a full-on origin story about. How did she end up here, of all places, shuttling Roy children into and out of various bedrooms and apartments? It’s fascinating to me. She does this thing sometimes where she looks at her phone and her eyes light up with alarm and she rushes into or out of a room in silence and it is probably my second favorite character reaction on the show right now, just behind that little sigh/wheeze/chuckle thing Roman does at the end of a sentence sometimes.

GRADE: A

MUST IMPROVE: Anything that will allow her to look at her phone less

Marcia

Marcia is maybe the most cutthroat operator on this entire show and I respect and fear her a great deal for this. She knows she’ll never get a real apology from Logan for the various humiliations and infidelities he’s put her through, but she also knows her value and sees the angle. No groveling? Fine. But she is going to get her financial position secured, believe that. Logan won’t “eat shit” in person because that’s not his way, but he’ll sure as hell sign off on a check with a bunch of zeros. She knows that. They’re both great white sharks, they just hunt differently. It’s a good match.

GRADE: A

MUST IMPROVE: I don’t want to list anything here because I’m afraid of the look she’ll give me if she sees it

Through three games, Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden has only attempted nine free throws. His free-throw rate is a career-low .184. Prior to this season, it’d never been lower than .415.

After Sunday’s 111-95 loss against the Charlotte Hornets dropped Brooklyn to 1-2 on the year, both Harden and head coach Steve Nash addressed the star’s dwindling free throw production, which is potentially correlated with the NBA’s change in how they call shooting fouls.

“I feel like he’s unfairly become the poster boy of not calling these fouls. But some of them are definitely fouls still,” Nash said. “But (referees) are just so alert and aware, and he’s the poster child of these new decisions. I get it, there’s a line, but some of them are still fouls, so he’s just gotta stick with it. He’s gotta keep going to the basket and he’s gotta do what he does because a large portion of them are still fouls and if he doesn’t get fouls, he can still make plays.”

Harden took to the podium after Nash and said “yeah, for sure” that he feels as though he’s the “poster boy” of the NBA’s rule changes.

“But I’m not the type to complain about it,” he continued. “I just ask every official that if they see a foul, just call the foul. Sometimes, I feel like, coming into a game, it’s already predetermined or I already have that stigma of getting foul calls, but I just ask for officials to call what they see.”

Harden is averaging 18.3 points, eight assists, and 7.3 rebounds in 34 minutes per game.

Who is the best live artist in the world right now? Everyone probably has their own opinion — and heck, maybe I could even argue for Phoebe Bridgers, who I also saw in the last week — and it undoubtedly stems more from personal preference than data and reporting. From Springsteen’s marathons to Phish’s unpredictability to Taylor Swift’s stadium events, the applicants for the title are around every corner. But, let me present an unexpected choice: Bon Iver.

Since Justin Vernon spent some time in a cabin and made history, his ever-evolving band has made a point to deliver live performances unlike any other. From sunrise sets in a cemetery and contemporary dance collaborations to headlining major festivals and starting his own, Vernon takes his responsibility as a live performer with the same seriousness and respect for audience that he takes his music. It’s put on a pedestal and acknowledged as a place of magic. Several times during the performance as Los Angeles’ brand new YouTube Theater, he would speak to the audience vaguely about the pandemic and state of the world, eventually concluding that performing is his band’s best way of communicating their emotions. To experience the band is to experience Vernon’s mind, and bask in majesty of it all.

Beyond the endless pursuit to push boundaries, Bon Iver’s live supremacy can be traced to a few key elements: great sound, great visuals, and great songs. The first aspect was bolstered by L-Acoustics, the company responsible for the YouTube Theater’s state-of-the-art sound system, as well as the sound of Coachella, Lollapalooza, and countless tours. For this show, they added to the theater’s already impressive L-ISA Hyperreal Sound technology, adding to the permanently installed 2.1 stereo sound system to a 7.1 spatial system, with over 180 speakers total. It might have been the best-sounding live event I’ve ever heard, both pristine during the quiet parts and rumbling when songs exploded. This paired beautifully with stunning visuals that harkened back to the original tour behind the album, with nods to past lighting choices that splattered dramatic color into every song.

The immersive nature of the sights and sounds made for an unbelievable tribute to the already-classic second album from the band, the one that saw Vernon shed some of his folky roots for something entirely more post-rock and expansive, hinting at the progressive, glitchy band that Bon Iver would become over the next decade. Vernon went on to win Grammys, further his collaborations with Kanye West, and became a bona fide star with the album, and the songs sound as vital in 2021 as they did when they were released.

But, as Vernon noted, the album is only 10 songs long, so the performance was padded with tunes from his entire catalog, many rearranged and some barely recognizable. “Blood Bank” became a pulverizing force, deep cut “____45_____” reaching a soulful height that its album only hints at, “715 – CRΣΣKS” served a surprising early-set focal point. For Emma, Forever Ago might be miles sonically from where Bon Iver is now, but songs like “Re: Stacks,” “Flume,” “Skinny Love,” and the closing “The Wolves (Act I and II)” felt like generous acknowledgments of the band’s history, fan service that still made sense within the context of the overall show.

Currently a six-piece that includes Sean Carey and Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner, it was the kind of performance so well-rehearsed and dialed in that was easy to imagine would be turned into something bigger: a live album, a concert film, a large-scale tour. And it very well might be, but to be in the presence of the band on this night, Vernon and co. were sure to be focused completely on the task at hand, honoring a crucial album from the last decade with a performance that won’t soon be forgotten. It’s the same commitment that Vernon always brings, and it’s so impressive that a review can’t capture it as well as just this simple advice: go see Bon Iver, as soon as possible. There might not be a better live band on the planet right now.

Setlist
Perth
Minnesota, WI
Towers
715 Creeks
Heavenly Father
666
Hinnom, TX
Wash
PDLIF
U (Man Like)
Jelmore
Michi
33 GOD
Blood Bank
45
Stacks
Holocene
Calgary
Lisbon
Beth/Rest
Skinny Love
Flume
Wolves

As much as hip-hop collectively loves mentioning Nascar (mostly because it rhymes with a lot of things, especially “fast car”), there’s another form of racing sport about which most rappers seem frighteningly uninformed: Formula 1. Part of that has to do with the fact that it just hasn’t caught on here the way it has in Europe; this resulted in a hilarious case of culture clash this past weekend as Houston rapper Megan Thee Stallion visited the F1 US Grand Prix this weekend in neighboring Austin and the world discovered that the unawareness can go both ways.

As she strutted the track with her entourage, Megan was approached by Sky News reporter and former driver Martin Brundle for an interview but as the rapper seemed to be in hurry, things got off to a bad start. Brundle was very nearly pushed away by Meg’s massive bodyguard (an absolute unit, that one), then, when addressing her, he noted that she is a “freestyle rapper” and wondered whether she had any “rap on F1.” Bursting into laughter, Megan politely declined to rap for the reporter as she kept it moving and he was left in the dust.

For what it’s worth, the awkwardness was probably a result of the generation gap as much as anything, as the older British reporter was clearly trying to turn a phrase and show off his own witty wordplay, which they’re quite fond of across the pond. However, nobody has used the term “rap” to mean “discuss” or “chat” in at least forty years. Sometimes you can get a little too clever, especially when it comes to so many degrees of separation (old, white, British man, meet 20-something, Black woman from Houston). Of course, some folks gave their own impressions of the hilarious incident on Twitter:

Seriously, though, people should stop asking Megan Thee Stallion about sports. It should be very clear by now that she is a big nerd and should only ever be asked about anime, video games, and hottie sauce. Check out Uproxx’s interview with Megan Thee Stallion about her iconic Mileena cosplay for Mortal Kombat 11.

There’s never a bad time to be Timothée Chalamet (have you seen his cheekbones?!?), but it was an especially good time to be Timothée Chalamet this weekend. After lengthy delays, Dune and The French Dispatch were both released on Friday. The former is his first attempt at a blockbuster, while he’s part of an ensemble cast in the latter, but Chalamet is excellent in both films. And both films had big debuts at the box office.

Dune opened to $40.1 million the North American box office, which is “the biggest three-day tally for Warner Bros. since the company began its day-and-date strategy on HBO Max,” according to Variety. Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science-fiction novel has earned another $180 million overseas, good for a $220 million global total. Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch won’t cross the $200 million mark at the box office (it also didn’t cost $165 million to make), but it is a certified hit in limited release.

The Searchlight Pictures movie grossed $1.3 million from 52 cinemas in 14 U.S. markets, or $25,000 per location. The previous best three-day opening weekend average of the pandemic era belonged to Venom: Let There Be Carnage ($21,309) and, before that, Black Widow ($19,400).

The French Dispatch has a ridiculously stacked cast, including Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Jeffrey Wright, Bill Murray, and Owen Wilson, and it’s Anderson’s best film in a long time. But it would be better if Venom was in it. The French Dispatch is technically a Disney movie; there’s no reason he can’t be in the bathtub with Timmy. Maybe in the director’s cut.

As for Chalamet, he will next appear in Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up, followed by (sigh) Wonka.

(Via Variety and the Hollywood Reporter)

This past weekend turned out to be a big one for fans behaving badly at arenas. The Brooklyn Nets’ home season opener was disrupted by anti-vaccine advocates, forcing the arena to be temporarily locked down when some of them tried to force their way inside. However, that somehow wasn’t the only incident of totally batsh*t behavior inspired by a cult-like figure at an arena, with another example taking place thousands of miles away in a completely different context on Saturday night.

As noted by HipHopDX and documented by a slew of fan videos, the Playboi Carti Narcissist Tour stop at Houston’s NRG Park was canceled after fans raged out outside the arena, pushing over metal detectors, throwing down barricades, and trying to force their way inside after waiting hours for the concert to begin. According to Click2Houston, the show was canceled without warning after fans waited hours in the rain. According to one fan, when Houston police were called to the scene, some fans even kicked the police horses (these people should be flogged to within an inch of their lives).

Another fan, quoted by Houston’s ABC affiliate, tried to explain the chaos. “It’s a really intense, aggressive album,” they said. “People came to the concert really amped up and ready to go crazy. Maybe the people at NRG weren’t prepared for that.” NRG Park released a statement as well, explaining that, “Last night in the interest of public safety and on the advice from the Houston Police Department, the Playboi Carti concert scheduled for NRG Arena was canceled. The safety of all guests, staff, and artists is our highest priority.”

There is still no official word on why the concert was canceled, nor has Carti himself responded, although his Sunday tweet of “Cult” could be considered an apt description of the events to follow. Check out more videos below.

Exhibiting all the poise and class of his father, Donald Trump Jr. is already selling T-shirts that shamelessly mock Alec Baldwin for the accidental shooting death that occurred on the set of Rust not even four days ago. Sometime in the past 24 hours, Don Jr. took to his Instagram Story to promote the shirt, which reads “Guns Don’t Kill People, Alec Baldwin Kills People” and is currently for sale on his official website for $27.99. Junior also tried to get ahead of the understandable backlash that’s about to ensue. Via The Daily Beast:

Donald Trump Jr. seemed to anticipate the completely justified criticism coming his way over his tacky merchandise sale, writing in a later Instagram post: “Screw all the sanctimony I’m seeing out there. If the shoe was on the other foot Alex Baldwin would literally be the first person pissing on everybody’s grave trying to make a point. Fuck him!”

You can see the shirt below, which is for sale on one of Don Jr.’s sites (and linked to his Instagram account):

Like many things Trump, the T-shirt is a low blow and fails to grapple with the reality of the situation. As the investigation into the shooting that left cinematographer Halyna Hutchins dead continues, Baldwin’s involvement is shaping up to be a tragic accident where several safety protocols failed to prevent him from firing a gun with a live round in it during a rehearsal. Most notably is the latest revelation that Baldwin was reportedly told by the assistant director that the gun was “cold” after he retrieved it from the armorer. A “cold gun” means it has no round in it, blank or otherwise.

However, the gun was not cold, and worse, it reportedly contained a live bullet, which should never have been the case. As for how that happened is the focus of the investigation, and Baldwin is fully cooperating with authorities.

(Via Donald Trump Jr.)

The Boys is known for relishing ultra-violence, and that’s putting it mildly. Heads have literally exploded on the show, both spontaneously and as part of sex act, with more expected to come from the third season premiere. The show never shies away from overdoing everything, and that includes taking aim at the fetishization of gun violence. Showrunner Eric Kripke has showed off a satirical ad (for an upcoming episode) that plays on Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” only it’s “Girls Just Want To Have Guns.” When it comes to actually using guns during the filming of episodes, however, Kripke is declaring that he’s drawing a line.

This announcement arrives after the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of Alec Baldwin’s Rust. All indications were that the film has seen a very troubled production, and given that this situation happened years after Hollywood aimed to take the issue more seriously (following Brandon Lee’s death after being hit by a blank during The Crow), clearly, something must be done. Kripke is taking action (The Boys‘ Soldier Boy actor Jensen Ackles, a longtime Kripke collaborator, also stars in Rust) by straight up vowing to ban “guns with blanks” on his sets. He’s calling this a simple, easy pledge: “We’ll use VFX muzzle flashes.” He added, “Who’s with me?”

Mare Of Easttown director Craig Zobel is with him. “There’s no reason to have guns loaded with blanks or anything on set anymore,” he tweeted. “Should just be fully outlawed. There’s computers now. The gunshots on Mare of Easttown are all digital. You can probably tell, but who cares? It’s an unnecessary risk.”

In addition, ABC’s The Rookie has banned live weapons on set, and on a related note, The Boys star Jack Quaid has reposted an Ackles Instagram entry, which asks people to donate money for a Halyna Hutchens scholarship fund.

It’s been about six decades since The Beatles established themselves as an international force, one that has maintained significant popularity even after all this time. Consequently, Paul McCartney is one of the most admired people in music history, and therefore, he gets asked for autographs a lot. Now there’s some bad news for signature seekers, though: McCartney is done signing autographs.

He recently explained his reasoning for that to Reader’s Digest (via Contact Music), saying, “It always struck me as a bit strange: ‘Here, can I write your name down on the back of this till receipt please?’ Why? We both know who I am.”

McCartney is also not huge on selfies, as he continued, “What you’ve usually got is a ropey photo with a poor backdrop and me looking a bit miserable. Let’s chat, let’s exchange stories.”

Around this time in 2008, McCartney’s Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr also took a stand against autographs. In a video, he warned his supporters that he would no longer be signing things sent to him in the mail, saying, “Nothing will be signed after the 20th of October! If that has a date on the envelope, it’s going to be tossed. I’m warning you with peace and love. I have too much to do, so no more fan mail! And no objects to be signed. Nothing! Anyway, peace and love, peace and love.”

Phoebe Bridgers‘ music wasn’t designed for big stages. Her voice is as intimate as can be, often breathy and hushed, its delicacy providing a foil for her often funny, sharp, and poignant lyrics. But, as two sold-out nights at the Greek in her hometown of Los Angeles can attest — as well as near-immediate sellouts at similar venues across the country — large venues are where she’ll find herself for the conceivable future. But when everyone is on your side, even the largest spaces can feel like a living room, with Bridgers’ devoted fanbase turning the Greek into a safe space for laughter, tears, and lots of singing on Thursday night.

It’s all a testament to what Bridgers has built over the last five years. These fans didn’t fall out of the sky, they have been drawn through a steady stream of both solo work and group offerings with Boygenius and Better Oblivion Community Center. The worldview she shares, both in her music and on her very active — and very good — social media platforms, advocates for decency and goodness in the music biz, as well as in the world at large. It’s the kind of stuff that’s contagious, and surrounded by more than 6000 like-minded people can feel almost intoxicating. When Bridgers looks out into the crowd and sees fans shouting back her words, you can tell that the majesty of the experience is still not lost on her. She can’t hide her smiles — you can tell she’s as blown away as the audience.

As a concert, Phoebe Bridgers is more than just doing justice to her pair of great albums, Stranger In The Alps and Punisher. She’s presenting them in a fully realized state, with a robust backing band that can often expand on her spare album arrangements. Her most full-band-sounding work, be it “Motion Sickness” or “ICU” or “Kyoto,” thrives under such conditions, but even a more gentle tune like “Graceland Too” can feel like its unlocking new dimensions in its widescreen glory. In short, Bridgers is easily slotting into a tradition of indie greats that came before her, that moved to big rooms with comfort. The sturdiness of her songwriting is holding up to the new challenges.

But the lasting emotions that come from seeing Phoebe Bridgers at this moment aren’t really about the performance or the songs or even Bridgers. It’s the community she’s cultivated. Certainly, her fans are not a monolith and range from grandparents to children, but it’s hard not to notice the young women who flocked to the show. Many came in groups, dressed in their own skeleton costumes or Bridgers’ distinct fashion sensibilities, with the wide-eyed wonder of a five-year-old on their first trip to Disneyland. The merch lines were massive and joyous, masks were worn proudly and respectfully, the eventual Black Eyed Peas entrance music cueing thousands to acknowledge how good of a night they were all about to have. I was reminded of similar young fanbases that I’d witness absolutely losing their shit at Lorde and BTS shows over the last several years, where you’d almost feel like an outsider — if they weren’t so damn welcoming — and if their enthusiasm wasn’t so inspiring.

Go to enough shows over enough years and it’s easy to understand how special the Phoebe Bridgers fanbase is. It’s not common to feel such support and positivity, so much so that it rubs off on you, that your faith in the world can be boosted, if at least temporarily. Gestures like shining your phone light in the air or clapping along to the beat or screaming the conclusion of “I Know The End” feel like no one else had ever thought to do that at a concert — like you’re witnessing the invention of the wheel in real-time. Often, observing the reaction to the music was as captivating as the music itself, like when “I Know The End” begins its tempo shift and groups of young fans started locking arms and sharing knowing, beaming grins in the anticipation of the grande finale.

The next night, I was driving through Los Feliz when Bridgers’ second Greek show was getting out, and the streets were crawling with teenagers in skeleton costumes. It was undoubtedly frightening to those not in-the-know, but for those that got it, it was a quick reminder of how bright the future can be, of what good hands we’re in with Phoebe Bridgers leading the charge.