REVIEW: Mitski w/ Julia Jacklin | 4.12.24 @ The Ryman Auditorium [PHOTOS]

Mitski
w/ Julia Jacklin
The Ryman Auditorium; Nashville, TN
April 12, 2024

Review by Philip Obenschain. Photos by Mary-Beth Blankenship.

Since springing to national recognition and critical adoration with her brilliant third album Bury Me at Makeout Creek a decade ago, and cementing her status as one of indie rock’s most inventive, unparalleled, multifaceted and generational talents with subsequent records Puberty 2 and Be the Cowboy, in 2016 and 2018, Mitski has continuously captivated us with the breadth of her talent, thoughtful and explorational artistry, and insightful and personal musings on fame, the music industry, and performance art. Though she’s been a Nashville resident for the last several years, her relationship with Music City seems to be one of solace, quietly making a home here in early 2020, and crafting her last two albums, 2022’s Laurel Hell and last year’s phenomenal, career-high This Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, at least partially in Nashville (the later recorded here at Bomb Shelter).

We’ve seen Mitski at some intimate spots over the years like The End, The Basement, The High Watt, then not long after at Bridgestone Arena, opening for Lorde- a sign of just how fast her career took off towards the end of the 2010s (a trajectory that led the singer to scale back for a couple of years, during which time she made her Nashville move). More recently she’s played The Ryman and even a surprise appearance at The Belcourt, at a fan screening of her new record, but Mitski’s latest Nashville performances- a four-night return to The Ryman Auditorium– were her most ambitious and special Nashville outings yet, boasting a different opener for each: Sarah Kinsley, Sunny War, Julia Jacklin, and Cowboy Junkies. Though, otherwise, the show- an intricate fusion of music and performance art- largely remained the same each night, we love that an artist who easily could’ve headlined a significantly larger space opted to play more nights to an imitate crowd.

We were in attendance night three, April 12, with opener Julia Jacklin, and were absolutely bowled over by how impressive, gorgeous, and personal this show felt; by far the best we’ve ever seen Mitski live, and one of the best shows we’ve ever seen at The Ryman period. Read on for our full review and photos!

It had been almost exactly six years since the last time I saw Mitski live, at a brief opening set at a large show, which might as well have been an eternity given that she’s made three more stellar albums, gained a huge and passionate young following, and has elevated both her live performance style and her entire artistic ethos since. I’ve been dying to see her again, especially after the brilliance This Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, which ranked among my absolute favorite albums of last year, but the stars just hadn’t aligned for her last few Nashville dates. A Friday night downtown is always a chaotic scene, but as soon as I entered the Mother Church, already packed before the show began, I felt a sense of calm and anticipation. I’ve heard some Mitski fans can be intensely enthusiastic almost to a fault, but I usually find that even with artists whose fans hold that reputation (boygenius, Taylor Swift, etc), Nashville crowds have tended to be more laid back and polite, and that was my experience here too. Everyone was extremely excited and cheered and applauded throughout, to be sure, but it was a rare Ryman show where the audience stayed seated (I truly can’t remember the last time that happened, save for a Nick Cave acoustic show), and during some of the night’s more introspective, quiet, and somber tunes, you could hear a pin drop.

Before Mitski emerged though, Australian folky, indie pop singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin opened things up, performing at the side of the stage alone with just an electric guitar. I’d only seen Jacklin once before, around the release of her breakout sophomore LP and with a full band, so this more stripped-down, quiet performance style was a cool contrast (even if some of the more upbeat songs lost a bit of their drive). Opening with “Too in Love to Die,” from her latest, Pre Pleasure (apparently at the urging of Mitski, who later joked that “peer pressure works”), Julia’s set was short and sweet, hitting another from that LP, “Ignore Tenderness” and older tune “Pool Party,” before finishing up with three from 2019’s Crushing– “Don’t Know How to Keep Loving You,” “Turn Me Down,” and, finally, fan-favorite “Pressure to Party.” Her style is a great compliment to Mitski’s, and it was clear that most in attendance were very familiar with Julia and her music as well, singing along, and cheering enthusiastically after each, while listening intently during the quiet set. She’d return the following night to headline The Blue Room, for a longer and smaller show, but even this six-song performance was captivating in its own right, and began the evening on a wonderful note.

I’d peeked at the setlist in advance, so I knew what to expect musically, but not visually, with Mitski’s performance. During the wait for her start, my attention was immediately drawn to a raised circular stage, draped in a cylindrical curtain from floor to ceiling, with the band’s gear situated in a semi-circle around. At once simple, and also unlike any stage setup I’ve seen before at The Ryman. After a short break (during which I glanced at the merch, with line as long as I’d ever seen at a Ryman show throughout the whole first hour), Mitski emerged, beginning the set with the minimalistic and synthy “Everyone” from Laurel Hell, before stepping into the curtain and casting a shadow, which grew to fill the stage before the curtain disappeared, to reveal a bright, dynamic, small center stage which would serve as her platform for most of the show.

Backed by an expansive band of synths and percussion and guitars and strings (I didn’t catch all of their names so I don’t want to omit any by attempting to list them all, though Nashville multi-instrumentalist and collaborator with artists like Jack White, Fats Kaplin, was there on steel guitar, and longtime Mitski producer and bandleader Patrick Hyland was still prominently in the mix on guitar), Mitski’s live show has morphed into something that’s just as much physical as it is musical, fusing singing with beautiful and intricate choreography unlike anything I’ve ever seen (apparently adapted from a theatrical, Japanese postwar dance style called Butoh). Though, between songs, she seemed genial, humble, and funny, during each performance- from the physical, like contorting her body and dancing atop props like chairs, to the fun and more tongue-in-cheek, like crawling around on all fours and mimicking a dog to end “I Bet on Losing Dogs,” to the wistful and stunning, as she became awash with light, or surrounded by shimmering adornments, as during viral hit ballad “My Love Mine All Mine”- Mitski was extremely focused, purposeful, and in command of her artistic expression in a powerful and effective way so few artists are capable of.

Her setlist was generous, featuring 25 songs and several from each of her five major records (she had two early self-released albums, but those songs don’t factor into her show much these days), but of course more from her latest, covering nearly the whole album. Mitski has always been a musically adventurous and multifaceted songwriter, but hearing the sparse, layered synth pop of cuts Laurel Hell like “Working for the Knife,” the wistful indie folk of recent This Land Is Inhospitable songs like “Heaven,” the scrappy indie rock of older Makeout Creek tunes like “First Love / Late Spring,” the synthy and orchestral indie pop of Puberty 2 songs like the aforementioned “I Bet on Losing Dogs,” and of course the shimmering art pop of beloved mid-period LP Be the Cowboy, which provided both of the fan-favorite songs for the encore- “Nobody” and “Washing Machine Heart”- experiencing the “eras” of Mitski as interspersed and thoughtfully sequenced and arranged liked this really accentuated just how incredible and creative and varied a songwriter she truly is, able to slide between genres and tonal influences and means of expression with the utmost creative prowess.

As a singer, as a performer alone, Mitski is incredibly skilled, and had she just played acoustic, or merely stood still at the mic, hearing such stellar songs live would’ve alone made for a great show. But it’s the additional means of expression- the movement, the vulnerability, the softness and confidence in how she performs and brings to life all of these deeply personal compositions, coupled with the intimacy of The Ryman itself and the enthusiastic and respectful crowd who filled it (though fans weren’t outright banned, it’s widely known that Mitski wants her fans to be present in the moment, and I was amazed at well they seemed to respect that, with most everyone around only pulling phones out for short moments at time), that made this one of the most profound and transcendent and wholly unique shows I’ve ever witnessed at the Mother Church. I know Mitski has a complicated relationship with fame and praise and idol worship, but I truly think she’s a generational talent deserving of all of adoration she receives, and this performance, almost a play as much as a concert, was truly something special. If you can see this tour, especially in a small theater, you absolutely must!

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All photos by Mary-Beth Blankenship

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Setlist:

Everyone
Buffalo Replaced
Working for the Knife
The Frost
The Deal
Valentine, Texas
I Bet on Losing Dogs
Thursday Girl
Geyser
I Love Me After You
First Love/Late Spring
Star
Heaven
I Don’t Like My Mind
Happy
My Love Mine All Mine
Last Words of a Shooting Star
Pink in the Night
I’m Your Man
I Don’t Smoke
Bug Like an Angel
Love Me More
Fireworks

Nobody
Washing Machine Heart