Mitski‘s live shows have been in an ongoing state of evolution over the years, and especially since 2018, when she started incorporating movement and dance into them. She took that to a new level with with her tour for 2022’s Laurel Hell, and now that she’s out on the road supporting last year’s The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We (our 2023 Album of the Year), she’s leveled up once again. This outing includes multiple sold out nights in theaters in a bunch of cities, which was a deliberate decision for Mitski, as she could’ve filled bigger venues too. “In our efforts to make the show experience extra special, we found beautiful, seated theaters to play over multiple nights, rather than one giant venue per city, in the hopes of offering a more intimate experience to the audience,” she wrote on social media when announcing the tour. For NYC, this worked out to seven sold out shows – four at Beacon Theatre and three at Kings Theatre, the first of which we caught on Monday night (2/26). Mitski seemed delighted with the location, and stopped to consider the romance inherent in a theater sitting empty for many years before being brought back to life in its current glorious form, and the ghosts that must haunt it.
The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We contains some of Mitski’s grandest musical gestures yet — an orchestra, a full choir — and a majestic room like Kings was the perfect setting to experience its songs in. Part theater piece, part modern dance performance, it couldn’t have been more different than the intimate acoustic performances she did in 2023, and it was thrilling to see her expertly execute her high concept vision down to the smallest details. Standing on an elevated platform in the midst of shifting beams of light, Mitski’s movements were both natural and sharp, whether she was moving, dancer-like, through choreography, or barking like a dog on her knees during “I Bet on Losing Dogs.” “My Love Mine All Mine” got the night’s most spectacular visuals, and Laurel Hell tracks like “Love Me More” were given a country-tinged rework by the accompanying backing band so they fit even more neatly in with the new material, which sounded fantastic. The songs that got the biggest responses of the night, though, were the encores — Be the Cowboy highlights “Nobody” (which had the crowd on its feet and singing along) and “Washing Machine Heart.” She also included a few songs each from Puberty 2 and bury me at makeout creek; see the full setlist, and attendee-taken video, below.
Sunny War is opening the Kings Theatre shows, and she started Monday night off with a set of her intricate, resonant folk music. See pictures from both sets below.
Over the weekend, there was also a Mitski pop-up and gallery at 347 Broome Street, open at select hours from Friday through Sunday and featuring work photographer (and BrooklynVegan contributor) Ebru Yildiz curated from the new album and merch. See pictures from that below, as well.
Mitski’s NYC run continues tonight (2/27) and Wednesday (2/28) at Kings Theatre.
SETLIST: MITSKI @ KINGS THEATRE, 2/26/2024
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
Encore:
Nobody
Washing Machine Heart
