One indie darling has been Mitski for years, but the rise of the Japanese-born New Yorker is with her sixth album released this year Laurel Hell gained momentum. Paradiso, Amsterdam: sold out. Extra concert in TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht (June 28): also sold out. It had never been this hard before.
On Wednesday, Paradiso had a devout, emotionally charged atmosphere that you only experience with artists who mean a lot to their audience. Mitski does just that: her introspective, personal lyricism offers many comfort and strength. Millennials: They’empowered†
You kept looking at the 31-year-old lead actress in her white dress: her hand gestures, her dance, her expression. Like a cross between Kate Bush and Yoko Ono, she took to the stage.
For many attendees that seemed enough: 75 minutes close to the enchanting woman who makes such beautiful songs, like Love Me More at the beginning and Working for the Knife or Washing Machine Heart towards the end.
And yet: musically it didn’t quite work. The albums offered a light, often elegantly pulsating electronic sound, now there was a somewhat drab band behind her, with a drummer who nailed things just a little too hard. Mitski’s eloquent vocals didn’t soar above it, as in the studio versions, but were overwhelmed by them, no matter how fervently the fans perceived the vocal honours.
This exposed a sore point: as characterful as Mitski’s stage performance is, her singing turned out to be so flat in Paradiso. She lost a bit to her own band, a therapeutic primal scream as in Townie apart from that.
In the meantime you hoped she would say something nice or beautiful, but Mitski limited himself to a muttered thank you when she left, unintentionally underlining that it was a bit scanty in Paradiso, in terms of empowerment†
Mitskic
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4/5 Paradise, Amsterdam. Rerun: 28/6 TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht (sold out)