by Moheak Radio
Show Review: Father John Misty @ The Independent
8:31 am in Show Review by Moheak Radio
Father John Misty rolled through a foggy San Francisco recently, burning up the stage with his patented dance moves and what may have been a funny cigarette handed to him by a fan.
Joshua Tillman is no stranger to indie rock, or to the hype surrounding certain bands in it. His early solo career included a few singer/songwriter-based albums, and he became a touring player with artists like Damien Jurado and David Bazan. In 2008, he became the drummer for the revered harmonic folk rock group, Fleet Foxes, while still releasing solo albums and departing in early 2012. Just a few months later, he put out the aptly named Fear Fun under the new moniker of Father John Misty. The album immediately got attention, not only for its irreverent yet simple style, but also for its clever lyrics, and snazzy video starring Parks and Recreation’s Aubrey Plaza.
“What a miracle of chaos and circumstance that we’re all here,” he proclaimed during the show, which was the phrasing he wanted to use instead of saying “Thank you for coming.” A Father John Misty show is apparently not to dissimilar to seeing the Rat Pack back in the swanky days, save missing a few other front men tossing out clever one liners in rapid fire succession. There was comedy, dancing, and some really beautiful music (or to use the Bay Area parlance – hella beautiful).
After telling the sold out crowd to expect some “angry, antagonistic fun,” the band started “Funtimes in Babylon” and everyone
cooed appreciatively while Tillman placed his palm to his forehead in mock exasperation. The antagonism really kicked in when he proclaimed himself a Dodgers fan while throwing up his hands in a room full of Giants loyalists, then offered, “I’m not wearing this Grateful Dead t-shirt as a condescending gesture, I just wear it every day.” All was forgiven during the next track, “You Can Call Me Nancy,” which featured some darn sexy dancing.
The arrangements of the songs from Fear Fun were not all that different, but live were somehow more amped up, almost to the point of straight up band jam boogies. Stage antics included enthusiastic dancing, bluesy yowls, dropping to the knees, and even a touch of band on band make out session (although that was a birthday gift to the guitar player, really). Tillman pouted playfully all through his environmental lament (and blast to the process of making records, literally) “Now I’m Learning to Love the War” while turning his “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” into a jam of epic proportions.
After wrapping up with a mindblowing encore which consisted of a mashup of John Lennon’s “Mind Games” into the Flaming Lips “Do You Realize?,” a thrilled crowd had to stop singing along and head back out into the cold night. That didn’t stop everyone from smiling big, though.
- Mo Herms for Moheak Radio
