Father John Misty is back, and boy does it seem like he missed the stage. While plenty of artists talk about their love for connecting with fans, and being blessed to play music for a living, there few current performers who seem to genuinely love being in front of an audience more than Josh Tillman. Last night at the walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown LA, he performed alongside the LA Philharmonic for one of his first live performances in quite some time. To say it was a return to form isn’t quite true, as it was clear that Josh and his band are a little rusty — as are the bulk of us in our seats, unsure how to feel or act, particularly in a seated venue with an orchestra playing along with Tillman’s irreverent folk rock.
As live shows become a part of the music industry’s ecosystem again, plenty of people are ready to get back into it. Shows with extra restrictions might be especially appealing, like the ones at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which come with comprehensive vetting. To even get inside the door, guests have to show not just their vaccination status, but also proof of a booster shot. If you don’t have it on you, the ushers will direct you to a link that will verify your medical history. Inside the concert hall, there’s no food or drinks allowed in the venue itself, and all the patrons remained seated and masked for the duration of the show. Though the masks were probably welcome to most attendees, the bulk of whom were much older than the average fan at a normal Father John Misty show, watching him perform to a seated crowd, no matter how beautiful the orchestra swelling behind him, was a little strange.
These songs are meant to be swayed to, and rogue guests up in back rows would periodically burst to their feet, wave their arms overhead, or do a little jig, like most of the seated patrons probably wanted to. But politeness, especially after/during a deadly pandemic, ruled, and it was relatively quiet show. That lack of participation was also probably strange for a band who are used to much bigger rooms, and much rowdier crowds, but they played beautifully, even when it came to brand new material. And as different as the atmosphere was, any strangeness was worth the surreal experience of hearing Tillman’s music with an orchestra accompaniment.
In Misty time, it’s been quite a while since he released a new album. Fans got used to a cadence that saw an album release every two years, sometimes even less, so when news broke late last year that a new album was coming in a matter of months, it was a welcome relief. Chloë And The Next 20th Century is slated for release in early April, and last night’s show included orchestra-accompanied renditions of both the album’s lead single, “Funny Girl,” and a live performance of the second single, “Q4.” Fans who were hoping to hear more new material off the album might have been disappointed, but the setlist was also packed with FJM favorites from all four previously albums, so there wasn’t much to complain about in the end.
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This was the first time Tillman and his band had performed either of the new Chloë songs publicly, and each of them fit neatly into the Father John Misty discography, at least the portion of it he shared last night. But based on the energy around his new music, it seems like Tillman’s next album will be a bit more subdued, even than 2018’s sometimes gut-wrenching God’s Favorite Customer. Knowing him, this just might mean there’s a whole collection of pandemic-induced party rockers coming next. Hey, if Taylor is in the FJM lane doing folklore, would any of us be opposed to Josh going full 1989 on a 2023 follow-up? This is all speculation, clearly, so for now we’ll have to wait and see how Chloë pans out once we hear it in full in just about a month. Check out a couple more photos of last night’s show below.
