Still fresh off their frenetic SXSW performance schedule, Japanese Breakfast played White Eagle Hall in Jersey City on Sunday, April 7th as part of their Spring 2019 tour. While touring non-stop for the better part of the last 3 years, frontwoman Michelle Zauner has somehow still found time to be a prolific artist in other areas – from directing music videos (for Better Oblivion Community Center, Charly Bliss, and Jay Som), composing a video game soundtrack/score, and penning her own memoir, Zauner is always hustling and up to something new. Hopefully soon, one of those new projects will be a follow-up to their acclaimed 2017 LP Soft Sounds from Another Planet. As a teaser for the yet-to-be-announced LP3, the band performed “In Hell”, an upbeat (but lyrically sad/despondent) new track sonically akin to 2016’s Psychopomp – if it’s any indication, LP3 will undoubtedly be my jam.
Decked out in a full on power suit, Zauner means business when she is on stage. In addition to her energetic and dynamic stage presence, she earnestly connects with and mutually endears her audience. She recounted her early days as a teenager in Eugene, OR creating flyers in MS Paint for her open mic performances and recording her 2-song demo with an inept old guy. Vocally, Zauner captivates especially on slower songs like “Till Death” and “This House” where she lets loose into the upper range of her vocal register without breaking into falsetto (e.g., when she belts “and did you ever even love her or was it rooted in companionship and timing?” in “This House”). It’s moments like this that drive audience members to shush one another in anticipation.
Continuing their tradition of performing covers, Japanese Breakfast played The Cardigans’ “Lovefool”, which Zauner referred to as the Swedish version of “Boyish”. For their encore, they performed “Diving Woman” – played live, it takes on new life compared to the studio recording, partly due to guitarist Peter Bradley’s horny-inducing gyrations. See Japanese Breakfast’s full setlist below. They’ll be back in the area again for the XPoNential Music Festival when they play the BB&T Pavilion in Camden, NJ on July 26th – tickets/passes can be purchased here.
Opening for Japanese Breakfast was New Brunswick, NJ-based Long Beard (lead by Leslie Bear). They’re set to release their follow-up to 2015’s Sleepwalker any day now, just in time for your Spring/Summer listening – based on their performance, it should be a fantasitc album. Highly recommended for fans of bedroom/dream-pop and Snail Mail. Keep an eye out for upcoming shows/tour dates here.
Keep on scrolling to see more photos from the show.
Japanese Breakfast Setlist:
– 12 Steps
– In Heaven
– The Woman That Loves You
– Road Head
– Heft
– 2042
– Boyish
– The Body Is a Blade
– In Hell (NEW SONG!!!)
– Till Death
– Triple 7
– This House
– Lovefool (The Cardigans cover)
– Everybody Wants to Love You
– Machinist
Encore
– Diving Woman
