Father John Misty, moniker for Josh Tillman, seems to be able to write lush music with great ease. He keeps releasing wonderful music and I like his relaxed style of singing and playing. His combination of rootsy folk music and blues rock seems just right for me and he is one of the few folk musicians I really like. So I was very pleased he was going to visit my home town.
It's a sold out show at Paradiso tonight, although it looks like people aren't really packed together. This is a good thing since this place can get really full sometimes. Without a lot of fuzz Father John Misty enters the stage and starts playing. His backing band are behind him and will stay to the back for the rest of the night. Dressed in a white suit it is clear Father John Misty is the star of the night and all spotlights are on him.
He is focusing mostly on his last two albums Pure Comedy and God's Favorite Customer with some songs from his other two albums mixed in. He ignores his life before Father John Misty completely and doesn't play any song from the period he called himself J. Tillman. I'm not sure why that is and maybe there's no particular reason behind it, although his style was different back then. In the end there's plenty to enjoy from his four Father John Misty records.
In a relaxed fashion Misty is going through his music that feels a bit like a routine in the beginning. The melancholic songs sound great though and his voice is very good and clear. When he loses his acoustic guitar and starts moving across the stage things get more lively, going through his usual expressive gestures and poses, with little dances and twirls. He doesn't say much in between songs and is not wasting a lot of time. Ballads like 'Things It Would Have Been Helpful to Know Before the Revolution' and 'The Palace' are simply gorgeous and things get more intimate in these moments. He reminds me of a combination of Billy Joel and Elton John sometimes.
It becomes clear how good is music is when you hear all these songs. During the night you lose the feeling he is going through his routines and I get lost in the music. Before I know it he has left the stage and returns for a four song encore. He takes time for a little chat, kind of going through a comedy act that is both a bit awkward as funny. Then he finishes the night with the swinging 'Date Night' off his last album, showing he's definitely able to rock as well. Father John Misty proves he's quite a unique artist with a rare talent for brilliant songwriting.
Setlist:
01. Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings
02. Mr. Tillman
03. Disappointing Diamonds Are the Rarest of Them All
04. Nancy From Now On
05. Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)
06. Total Entertainment Forever
07. Things It Would Have Been Helpful to Know Before the Revolution
08. Ballad of the Dying Man
09. I'm Writing a Novel
10. I Went to the Store One Day
11. Hangout at the Gallows
12. When the God of Love Returns There'll Be Hell to Pay
13. Please Don't Die
14. Real Love Baby
15. Pure Comedy
16. Holy Shit Encore
17. The Palace
18. So I'm Growing Old on Magic Mountain
19. I Love You, Honeybear
20. Date Night
The Casbah got the best of me last night so I'm a little slow this morning. But a few litres (yes, we have the metric system over here) of coffee gets me going. So after a while we are heading to the festival site for another glorious day in sunny paradise.
Yesterday we spent a lot of time at stage five and we find ourselves back there for the first show of the day with Moaning. Singer and guitarist Sean Solomon looks tiny but packs an amazing baritone. The band have a relaxed and loose way of playing their powerful songs, still the show is very tight. The post-punk songs with fuzzed guitars sound dark and heavy. Once and a while the band goes wild on stage, swinging their guitars around. At the end of the set Solomon balances his guitar on top of his head for the last trick of a very enjoyable show.
Since I saw the trio from Houston play the Into The Great Wide Open festival last year the band has created a lot of buzz around them. Their album Con Todo El Mundo is well received and people seem to love the mellow disco and rock n roll sound. I am not that impressed and find it a bit too cheesy and boring. But it has brought them to the second biggest stage of the festival where it has filled up completely, so I'm going to give them another try. Every song is greeted with loud cheers and people are really digging the easy listening tunes. Mark Speer is a skilled guitar player showcasing many styles. I still think it isn't all that special and probably don't really get it.
I like the Australian band Gang Of Youths a lot better later on at the main stage. It's halfway the afternoon and it's hot in front of the stage at the lake. The band needs to work very hard to keep people going. The band has studied their rock poses well, especially singer David Le’aupepe. In the end it pays off though and people actually start responding to the band's positive energy. Not all songs are great though, especially the mid tempo pop tunes aren't really memorable. But when the band starts rocking heavily, steering close to Bruce Springsteen and The Gaslight Anthem, they actually have something good going on. In the end the band deserves a big hand for energizing the somewhat apathetic crowd.
The incredible story about Sixto Rodriguez is the subject of the by now well-known documentary Searching For Sugarman. Although it isn't clear to me if the story was made bigger than it truly is, you really wish the old bluesman the best. But the singer looks lost on stage and isn't really capable of playing a truly good show. The eager crowd really wants to give him everything but the show never really takes off. In the end it is the legend that remains but with a bit of a bitter taste.
Fortunately Ty Segall lives up to his reputation. The productive rocker even shines in his best matter with an inspired and lively show. With his The Freedom Band he's standing in half a circle so we can only see him from the back from our bad spot all the way to the right of the stage. Segall seems to be going through all his faces today, moving between garage punk, rock, glamrock and some more of his pop tunes. The pit in front of the stage gets bigger and bigger, while crowd surfers keep popping up. His cover of Hot Chocolate's 'Everyone's A Winner' fires them up even more. Segall definitely is a big winner today.
Spoon is one of those bands that simply is made for festivals like this. Their song writing skills are amazing and live those songs sound better than ever. Britt Daniel is a charismatic singer that knows how to play a crowd. Today he has no trouble getting people into their groovy songs. The wonderful 'I Ain't The One' makes everyone hold their breath and this show only has highlights.
Back at stage Two Ruban Nielson and co have started their set. The band has grown bigger and bigger over the years, but they are known for their capricious performances. I've seen great shows by this band, but today they sound a bit messy. Jumping between songs from their entire catalog, the many styles lack coherence and the band seems less focused. Nielson can still rely on his amazing guitar playing though and a string of very good songs. In the end it leaves mixed feelings about this show.
Another good album God's Favorite Customer makes me eager to see Father John Misty. He plays a very smooth running set with a tight band, with a lovely brass section. His rich compositions sound lush today with a well balanced set that never goes weary. He is not in a chatty mood but when you have so many great songs, you can let the music do the talking. That's exactly what he does while the sun is slowly setting.
After two days of headliners that lived up to their huge reputation, expectations are high for James Murphy and co who are closing the main stage. They played an incredible set of shows at Paradiso last September so I kind of thought what to expect. The band has an out of this world set for us tonight though, one that is aimed at a festival crowd that wants to go all the way one last time at the main stage. All hits are lined up in a smooth running show that never seems to have breaks, except for that short toilet break Murphy announces a few songs too early. The huge disco ball was never more at its place than tonight, which turns into a lovely dancing party filled with good vibes. Murphy is clearly having a lot of fun himself, smiling a lot and cracking a few jokes. This is one of those nights where a band and a crowd totally connect for a wonderful unforgettable party.
Last year we saw two dream headlinersArcade Fire and Radiohead on this festival, but LCD Soundsystem was probably the perfect headliner for a close to perfect festival.
We head to The Casbah one last time that is exploding with energy. This year's edition was one of the best festival experiences I have ever had and one that climaxed with utter joy and positive vibes. The weather turned out to be perfect, the bands were incredible and the crowd was really into it as well. I think I saw a glimpse of paradise this weekend.
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