I have to give Youth Lagoon a ton of credit. It takes a lot to get on stage after Father John Misty, and Youth Lagoon was more than up to the task last Tuesday night at the Town Ballroom. Feeling YL's reverb drenched indie rock reminisces in my guts as it surrounded me was transporting, life affirming, and thoroughly wonderful, but that said, it was Father John Misty who damned near almost stole the show out from under him "like a preacher stealing hearts at a travelling show."
Even after enjoying that music video with Aubrey Plaza from Parks and Recreation and doing a little research (because you've GOT to know your opener, especially if you're a music blogger), I was still utterly unprepared for what the former drummer from Fleet Foxes had in store for us. Indeed, Joshua Tillman has made the right choice going his own way and making a go of it under the Father John Misty moniker because he is a force of nature on stage and a shockingly excellent front man thanks to his clear, emotive and powerful voice, tasteful moves, and wry humor and presence. Watching Tillman wittily deadpan banter with the appreciative audience and lead that band merry hipsters through a fast paced and intense set of pure 70's AM radio American rock, I couldn't help but think that he'd been sandbagging behind the drums. In any case, I think being a killer frontman is his true calling.
Yes, that set from Father John Misty was all about channeling unabashedly that now mythical time when everything still ran through the AM radio dial, and Tillman and co. were more than up to the task of interpreting the music of that halcyon, long ago time. That sense that, against the odds... that it is still possible... only made their performance more powerful, dazzling, and profoundly satisfying. It was so wonderfully timeless and quintessentially American, by the end of their set I even felt deep stirrings of national pride. It was crazy. But I guess that's what happens when the Father John Misty show rolls through town. Ecstatic visions of what was and what could be, the joy of communal discovery, and some "truth," before it's all over and we're left to wait for them to pass through again.
When I went to see Youth Lagoon, I wasn't expecting that.
Yes, that set from Father John Misty was all about channeling unabashedly that now mythical time when everything still ran through the AM radio dial, and Tillman and co. were more than up to the task of interpreting the music of that halcyon, long ago time. That sense that, against the odds... that it is still possible... only made their performance more powerful, dazzling, and profoundly satisfying. It was so wonderfully timeless and quintessentially American, by the end of their set I even felt deep stirrings of national pride. It was crazy. But I guess that's what happens when the Father John Misty show rolls through town. Ecstatic visions of what was and what could be, the joy of communal discovery, and some "truth," before it's all over and we're left to wait for them to pass through again.
When I went to see Youth Lagoon, I wasn't expecting that.
To be perfectly honest Youth Lagoon was a huge disappointment but I agree whole heartedly about John Misty. More people need to experience him!