See Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst Reunite Better Oblivion Community Center in L.A.
The folk-pop duo Better Oblivion Community Center, helmed by Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst, made a surprise reunion on Thursday night at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles. The venue has been hosting weekly shows as part of the Conor Oberst and Friends residency since early March. Bridgers’ special appearance at this week’s concert marked their first performance together since 2019.
They released their first album, Better Oblivion Community Center, that same year. Bridgers appeared during the encore of the show to perform the final three songs of the night, including “My Song” from their record. She also assisted on “Lua,” a single from Bright Eyes’ 2004 album I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. Oberst and Bridgers closed out the set with “Double Life” from Upside Down Mountain, the solo album Oberst shared in 2014.
“I was at a weird point in my life where I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do next, musically, and was essentially just bumming around L.A.,” Oberst told Rolling Stone in 2019 about the origin of Better Oblivion Community Center. “It felt good to be around people who were not jaded, where the idea of a nice afternoon is just hanging around with your friends and passing a guitar around.”
He added: “I’ve had that at different points in my life, but it had been a long time since I’ve felt that sense of, ‘Wow, I really like music still, and everything doesn’t have to be a super-solitary, painful exercise.’ The whole experience was just what the doctor ordered for me to get excited about music again.”
The other special guests at the third Conor Oberst and Friends show included Azure Ray’s Maria Taylor. Earlier this month, he welcomed Leslie Stevens and M. Ward to the stage as well. Next month, the residency will make the move from L.A. to New York, with Oberst hosting weekly shows at Bowery Ballroom.