At the risk of sounding like a contrarian hipster (truly the only way to open a FJM review), I didn’t expect Father John Misty to be as popular as his is. He’s clearly talented, rather, it’s his personality that’s off-putting. His records host diatribe after diatribe about disconnection in the information age, tell tortured love songs, and paint a bleak portrait of the future. The lingering feeling after listening to a Father John Misty record isn’t contentment, it’s disturbed. That said, fans have overwhelmingly decided they love this guy; Friday night’s sold-out show at The Fillmore proved that.
As a fan myself, I know it’s Father John Misty’s “worst” qualities that make him such a compelling artist. When it appears in the news there’s more people willing to co-sign the chaos of the times than confront it, FJM’s alarmism suddenly feels urgent. And when it all gets too serious, you can laugh at it. No one’s laughing out loud, per se, but Father John Misty’s music is humorous like that meme of the dog saying “This is fine” inside a burning house.
And his performance reinforces that sentiment. It’s clear Father John Misty’s Josh Tillman is self-aware, even though that’s not a sufficient pardon for some. On stage at The Fillmore on Friday, Tillman asked the audience if he and his touring orchestra should play a more upbeat song. “This one’s not about that,” he answered for us, then led us into “Goodbye Mr. Blue,” a song about a dying cat. Tillman glides around stage, dancing under the weight of heavy sarcasm, and performs with the tone of having one eyebrow raised. If you didn’t know his songs were tongue-in-check before, he slaps you with it on stage.
Though many have said FJM’s latest Mahashmashana (2024) is a “return to form” for the artist perhaps most-liked for the jangle and romance in his first two records, it was his new songs that stood out the most at Friday’s show. Grooving “She Cleans Up” led nicely into the anthemic “Screamland,” whose brightly contrasted audio production was met with engulfing white strobe lights. And the record’s longer songs found generous placement in the setlist as well, with “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All” in the strong second position, and glorious “Mahashmashana” closing out the set pre-encore. Though Father John Misty sounds more like his earlier self than he did in the jazzy, Hollywood-noir Chloë and the Next 20th Century (2022), the scale of his work has grown with his illustrious career.
Destroyer, an indie rock group from Vancouver, was the natural opener for Father John Misty. Though their lyrics are more opaque, the two acts shared a flair for drama. Destroyer’s new album won’t come out until March 28th, but there’s plenty of material eager to be uncovered.
