The sarcastic and dry humored Josh Tillman, or more commonly known as Father John Misty, played a sold-out show at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, Georgia last week. The pit was packed from the stage to the bar with countless millennials. The Tabernacle’s outside appearance was decorated with eager ticket holders at least two hours in advance of when doors actually opened. When the doors finally did open at 7 p.m., the threshold was released.
At 8 o’clock, when the lights went down for the opening band, Tess and Dave, the standing room was filled. Tess and Dave set the mood for the night. Dave, who plays in Father John Misty’s band, performed choreographed dance moves with his girlfriend Tess as they played songs that mimicked the sounds that everyone was there to hear.
Around 9:30 p.m. the man of the hour, Father John Misty, pranced, yes, pranced, onto the stage and let everyone know that he was not wasting any time as he began to sing the first notes of “Every Man Needs a Companion.” The backdrop, a seafoam blue, seemed to calm down the audience and allow them to take in what they were seeing.
Again, wasting no time, FJM, kicked it up a notch as he followed with “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” and then slowed it down with “Smiling and Astride Me.” There was never a dull moment in between songs and he continued playing upbeat tunes like “Teepees 1 & 2” and yet, the momentum continued even after he slowed it down with songs like “Nancy From Now On.”
As a broke college student doomed to a life of debt, singing along to the comedic words of “Bored in the USA,” I laughed along with the audience as FJM sang, “they gave me a useless education.”
As a listener of SirusXMU (check it out if you haven’t), I am very familiar with FJM’s “True Affection.” Just like I dance along in my car when it’s on my radio, I danced along in the balcony as I watched FJM play it live. The feeling of hearing one of your favorite songs, especially when FJM plays it, is a feeling unlike any other.
The feelings of excitement and teenage-level giddiness didn’t end there. FJM closed out his set with his hit, “I Love You HoneyBear.” The crowd’s volume peaked when they sang along to the words, “But, I love you honeybear.”
The song finished, FJM said his goodbyes and the lights went up. The crowd waited eagerly as they proved that they would not leave the venue without an encore. FJM appeared on the stage yet again. Even though no one was surprised, the crowd still went crazy as if his return to perform an encore was questionable.
The mood slowed as FJM played his song, “I Went To The Store One Day.” If you have not sat down and listened to the lyrics of this song, do it now. Every time I hear it, I get lost in the lyrics and this time was like no other. I was snapped out of my gaze when the beat to an unfamiliar song started pulsing loudly. Before I could realize what was going on, FJM was singing Nine Inch Nail’s “Closer.” It took me by surprise and, like the audience, I was so into it. The lyrics are so different than the ones FJM writes, and it was a great change of pace in his set. As he flailed all over the stage, lying on his back on the floor, he belted out “I’ve torn apart my insides.”
I thought the chaos was over until FJM started playing “The Ideal Husband.” The crowd carried the momentum from the Nine Inch Nails cover into the last song of FJM’s set. Once the tune came to an end, as the crowd's cheers and the people in the balcony rose to give a standing ovation, FJM lingered on stage. As Drake’s “Legend” played, the crowd danced and so did FJM.
(Also, check out the back of my head in that video)
Peep Sub Pop’s website and find out where you can catch a Father John Misty show because you won’t regret it.
