Read previous – Mitski at The Met Philly
Showing some love to the Garden State, Mitski treated fans to a last-minute show at the Starland Ballroom on Saturday, February 28th. Slotted just before her multi-night run at The Shed in NYC, it was Mitski’s first official show following the release of her 8th studio LP Nothing’s About to Happen to Me. It was the kind of announcement no one saw coming – the Starland Ballroom seems like the last place you’d expect for a Mitski show, but somehow it’s also kind of perfect. It felt like a throwback to her Puberty 2 tour (c. 2016) both in venue size and performance style. It was a straightforward Mitski performance without any of the choreography and theatrics we’ve come to expect in more recent years. The sold out crowd, who kept themselves entertained with wild cheers for the IHOP ad projected on screen, packed the venue far in advance of her 8:30 start time.
Mitski started off her set with Nothing’s About to Happen to Me opening tracks “In a Lake” and “Cats”, easing the crowd into the quiet, aching world of her new album before cutting through it with the sharper edge of “Working for the Knife” from Laurel Hell. Without the elaborate staging of her recent tours, every gesture felt magnified – hands pressed to her chest and occasionally gestured toward the crowd it felt like she was peeling the songs back to their original shape. Banter was light, but Mitski took a moment to acknowledge her audience of die-hard fans, many of whom probably travelled long distances to be there. The setlist was a thoughtful curation of new tracks, deep cuts, and deliberately chosen crowd-favorite anthems like “Washing Machine Heart” and “Francis Forever”. She forewent performing what are arguably her most famous tracks, “You’re Best American Girl” and “Nobody”. While she also didn’t perform personal favorite “A Burning Hill”, she did break out “I Want You” from 2013’s Retired from Sad, New Career in Business – it’s the first time she’s brought this song back into her setlist since 2019. The emotional peak came late, when she strung together “Two Slow Dancers,” “Lightning,” and “My Love Mine All Mine” with a kind of fragile intensity that made the entire room hold still. She closed the night with a surprising encore of “Pearl Diver”. Afterward, the crowd spilled into the parking lot realizing that something had, in fact, happened to them that night.
Mitksi is currently in the midst of her 6-night stint at The Shed in NYC, before heading off to the West Coast and international dates. See all of her upcoming tour dates here. I’m still holding out for additional surprise dates – Philly perhaps? Check out her music video for “If I Leave” below and keep scrolling to see more photos from the show.
