Mitski makes her grand return to Philly with 2 nights at The Met on her The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We tour
Read previous – Mitski delivers heat lightning at Franklin Music Hall in Philly
Photos and words by Oliver Lopena
Touring in support of her 7th studio LP, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, acclaimed indie singer-songwriter Mitski made her highly-anticipated return to Philly with back-to-back sold out nights at The Met – we were fortunate enough to be there on both nights. The venue was a refreshing and welcome upgrade from her 2022 tour – for Laurel Hell, her Philly show was at Franklin Music Hall on one of the hottest days on record (check out our coverage of that show here).
Opening for Mitski was an intimate performance from singer-songwriter Tamino. Performing solo on stage, he switched off between guitars and an 11-string oud. The sparse instrumentation complemented his deep baritone vocals that unexpectedly soared into Jeff Buckley-esque upper registers on songs like “Indigo Night” and set closer “Habibi“.
As an artist, Mitski continues to be on top of her game on The Land Is Inhospitable. From the album’s opener, “Bug Like an Angel“, it’s clear she’s heading in a new direction sonically; however, her poetic and vividly descriptive lyrics continue to be her bread-and-butter. The album lacks any rock-leaning or upbeat tracks, but she puts out some of her most beautiful songs to date like “Heaven“, “Star“, and (of course) “My Love Mine All Mine“.
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To begin Mitski’s set, her band took the stage and started playing a super country-sounding track – it featured a steel guitar and everything. It was unrecognizable until the point that Mitski began singing and the audience realized it was a surprising new take on “Everyone” from Laurel Hell. Bringing Being The Cowboy into fruition, it was a foreshadowing for the twangified tone that would reoccur throughout the night and was just the first of many surprises. Also to my surprise was that the entire crowd stayed seated – it felt weird to sit during a Mitski show, but we were gifted with perfect sightlines. The audience vibes were, dare I say, civilized. On night 2, Mitski addressed the crowd to recount her history of being a “gremlin” and made a new delayed New Year’s resolution to be a gremlin again. She stated, “gremlins aren’t bad… the only time gremlins are mean is when we’re trying to be humans”. Still, don’t feed her after midnight just to be safe.
Since Be The Cowboy, Mitski introduced theatrical aspects to her performances in the form of choreography, lighting, and set pieces. For this tour, Mitski’s performance borders musical theater and is an absolute spectacle to behold. For example, “Valentine, Texas” was given a jazzy treatment and featured Mitski performing full on chorus line choreography for the song’s climax. Interacting with it throughout the night, stage lighting was also an important character that Mitski used to tell her story. Lighting guided her around the stage during “Star” and she waltzed with it during “Heaven”. The imagery she created during these songs was unforgettably delightful. For “My Love Mine All Mine”, a mobile resembling glass shards lowered and surrounded Mitski, reflecting light throughout the venue. As if by magic, the shards then ascended as she performed “Last Words of a Shooting Star”.
Mitski performed an utterly joyous rendition of “Happy”, the cognitive dissonance of which made my head explode but had me grinning ear to ear. Similar moments occurred during her Caribbean-inspired performance of “Pink in the Night” and her honky-tonkified version of “I Don’t Smoke”. Could it be possible that she actually IS happy? She finished out her regular set with “Fireworks” from Puberty 2, before closing out the night with an encore of Be The Cowboy bangers “Nobody” and “Washing Machine Heart”. I felt slightly sad that she didn’t perform “Drunk Walk Home” or “Your Best American Girl” (quintessential Mitski songs, in my book); however, she gave so much more than I possibly could’ve imagined.
Mitski will be continuing on her North American tour through April and will play additional US dates in the summer. See all of her upcoming tour dates here. Check out Mitski’s music video for “My Love Mine All Mine” below and keep scrolling to see more photos from the show.
