Photo Gallery: Phoebe Bridgers / Daddy Issues at recordBar

Phoebe Bridgers

On Monday, April 9, the recordBar stage was decorated with strings of holiday lights and a banner featuring the art from Phoebe Bridgers' debut "Stranger In The Alps." When Bridgers and her band stepped onto that stage, they were dressed in smart black suits. This theme of simple elegance exemplified in the performance's first moments turned out to be quite recurring. The Los Angeles singer-songwriter's opening number "Smoke Signals" was as somber and sincere as anyone wearing that L.A. gothic uniform should be.

To the delight of her audience, that initial spell of seriousness didn't last too the entire time. Following the first handful of songs, Bridgers was out of her shell and making self-deprecating jokes about her Twitter habits -- that hit home for the high concentration of millenials in the room -- and remarks about the "glitter in [her] fucking eye." Another pause in the indie folk gloominess came with the surprise appearance of collaborator Conor Oberst who made the trip from Nebraska for the show. Oberst joined Bridgers for background vocals on her song "Killer" and grabbed an acoustic for a rendition of Simon Joyner's "Double Joe."

Bridgers' hour-long set -- which included the entirety of "Stranger" and a Tom Petty cover -- was full of highlights and respectful sing-alongs. The galloping country number "Motion Sickness" -- a banger, relative to the rest of her material -- was the night's loudest and joyous moment aside from Oberst's time on stage.

Usually when a cover song is the best song in a set, it's the sign of a fledgling band needing to work on its songwriting, but in Bridgers' case, her cover of Mark Kozelek & Jimmy Lavelle's "You Missed My Heart" was no such thing. As the show's sole encore, the cover had Bridgers clenching her fist around the microphone stand, ditching the guitar altogether, and eventually ending up on the floor. The performance was more haunting and beautiful than any of the songs that proceeded it and offered a glimpse into Bridgers' potential future as a ballad-slinging crossover pop star (if she so chooses the route).

Nashville grunge-pop trio Daddy Issues opened the show with the night's only heavy guitar riffs and an attitude far from bashful.

Full photo gallery here.