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PHOTOS: Julien Baker – Los Angeles, CA – 11/4/2021

Alyssa Buzzello

This week Julien Baker enchanted a Los Angeles crowd at the Wiltern by spilling her guts on stage like the musical superhero she is. Playing most of her current album release “Little Oblivions” as well as a good amount of older songs, Baker powered through an hour and a half long set. She has the distinct power to make a large room feel small while she is playing track after track of vulnerable hard-hitting music that leaves the audience speechless. Everyone in the audience could conjure the feeling that she was singing straight to them and only to them.

Baker gave the audience two options before diving into older material, “If you want to sing, feel encouraged to. If you don’t want to sing, just chill out”. Needless to say, the crowd took her up on the invitation to sing on “Sprained Ankle” and she continued alone on stage with softer tracks “Something” and “Televangelist”.

About halfway through the set, Phoebe Bridgers emerged and joined Baker on stage for a special duet of “Favor”. Bridgers and Baker are bandmates in 2018 all star group boygenius with Lucy Dacus, and Baker recently opened for Bridgers during a northern California tour stop. 

Baker closed out the set with a 2 song encore of “Everybody Does” and slow and dramatically building fan favorite “Ziptie”. Captivated by the relatability of it all, this was a performance that will stick with the entire audience for quite a while. Check out the setlist below and the rest of her tour dates here!

Setlist:

  1. Hardline
  2. Bloodshot
  3. Sadowboxing
  4. Relative Fiction
  5. Highlight Reel
  6. Heatwave
  7. Sprained Ankle
  8. Something
  9. Televangelist
  10. Song in E
  11. Fait Healer
  12. Favor (with Phoebe Bridgers)
  13. Ringside
  14. Turn Out the Lights
  15. Tokyo
  16. Repeat
  17. Sour Breath
  18. Appointments
  19. Everybody Does (Encore)
  20. Ziptie (Encore)
Alyssa Buzzello
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Alyssa Buzzello

Alyssa Buzzello is a Senior Contributing Photographer and has been with the publication since 2015. Alyssa is currently working in live event operations and when she is not working or taking photos, she loves to watch The Office. Her favorite bands include Bleachers, Fall Out Boy, and Joyce Manor.