Mitski @ Fox Theater

[ariad]

Saw Mitski again for her Laurel Hell tour.

Before I talk about the show itself, I have to talk about getting the tickets for this thing. Yvonne, Lily, Yvonne's friend Kelly, and I tried four different ticket sales on three consecutive days.

cant believe mitski tickets are worse than comiccon badges

— lily! cat goes wild (wii music) (@lilymros) October 7, 2021

friends in the US 🤝 friends in the UK
tweeting about not getting mitski tickets

— a reluctant meow meow (@vilevelns) October 8, 2021

— a reluctant meow meow (@vilevelns) October 8, 2021

But! On the fourth ticket sale, Kelly got us mezzanine tickets for Saturday, March 5 at Fox Theater in Oakland!

This is not going to be a coherent narrative. This is just a list of thoughts.

louis 😍

— a reluctant meow meow (@vilevelns) March 6, 2022

Fox Theater staff were really well-organized and efficient. The line for Mitski was long, but we got in the building so fast.

The opener was the BEST OPENER EVER. It was like an experimental jazz J-pop girl group rock band called CHAI. Incredible. They grabbed my attention immediately, in part because they had a full light show, which I feel like is uncommon for openers. Lily and I were entranced, so I was surprised to learn Yvonne and Kelly did not enjoy them lol. "I'm happy you're happy," said Yvonne.

Mitski's stage setup included a single white door upstage center. I thought she would come through the door but she entered from the side. She wore a white sort of geometric dress with a slitted long skirt and flesh-colored flexible shoes so that she looked barefoot. She didn't play any instruments during the concert, but she did her Butoh-inspired emotive choreography throughout.

Here's the Mitski setlist.

Love Me More - I think it was at the end of this song that she gave two slow, deep 90º bows. One to each side of the audience. Hands in front—Japanese style.

Should've Been Me - She knocked on the door for this, which was one of the only times she interacted with the door.

Francis Forever - This was the first one where the entire audience sang along. I think we were all really happy to hear Bury Me at Makeout Creek.

First Love / Late Spring - The entire audience sang along to this one, too, except 「胸がはち切れそうで」😭

Townie - Ecstatic about this one in part because Laurel Hell is so poppy. It was nice to see Mitski belt a rock tune.

I Bet on Losing Dogs - For the last few lines, she lay on her belly with the mic on the floor in front of her and reached her arms and legs behind her. After she was finished singing, she rolled onto her back with her arms and legs stiff in the air.

Heat Lightning - Red lighting!

Washing Machine Heart - She stopped singing for a bit during this one and prompted the audience to fill in the vocals! And we did!

The last track of the main set was "A Pearl," and then the band left the stage. But they went off only for about thirty seconds before returning for the encore? Lol guess they didn't want to waste any time.

Two Slow Dancers - At the start of this, someone yelled loudly, "I LOVE THIS SONG!" Lmaooo. I think it was after this track that Mitski finally went through the door, which shone a bright white light when she opened it.

It was still a really amazing and fulfilling show. Sometimes when I'm far from the performer, I have a feeling of "I could have watched this from YouTube." I think what makes the difference is that everyone at the Mitski show really wanted to be there. They were probably like us and had tried to get tickets multiple times. So everyone sang along and there was a real feeling of connection.

Kelly observed afterward that Mitski didn't talk much to the audience. We speculated whether it might have to do with her controversial deleted tweets asking fans not to record her entire performance. I think she is also increasingly uncomfortable with her relationship to her audience and the zealousness of those who want to consume her. (I feel a little guilty myself reading interviews because I am obsessed with her, yet reading in those interviews about her discomfort with being the object of obsession. Oh well!)

Anyway Mitski best ever!