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Review & setlist: Mitski gets folky during mesmerizing MGM stop
The 33-year-old singer is spending four nights in Boston to tour her newest album "The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We."
Mitski brought her newest album — complete with languid movements and rushes of energy — to Boston with a folk-style set covering her hits from the past decade.
The “Washing Machine Heart” singer opened her four-night stop in Boston at MGM Music Hall at Fenway, where she’ll play nightly through Sunday.
Mitski is touring her new album “The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We,” a more folksy, moody face for the 33-year-old singer. She played a huge selection from her catalog, but those older songs — normally edgy and intense — were almost “folksified” to match her newest work.
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And the crowd reflected Mitski’s unhurried tempos and dancing. The floor of MGM was all assigned seating, and almost no one stood during her 23-song set, save the encore.
The lights went low, and a six-piece band surrounded a column of curtains, behind which Mitski — as a larger-than-life silhouette — sang a rendition of “Everyone” from 2022’s “Laurel Hell” as a prelude.
Mitski — in a simple black dress and tights with a chopped pixie — went for drama. Most of her show was reminiscent of a play, with her acting out the only part. She introduced the band only as “a few Berklee grads,” addressed the crowd thrice, and moved with the music in a measured and sometimes manic way atop a platform she rarely left.
The show included 10 of her new album’s 11 songs, including the hit “My Love Mine All Mine.” She mimed strumming a guitar for the entirety of “The Frost” and slow-danced with a mic stand during “Valentine, Texas.”
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Mitski’s voice was overpowered at points by the band, but she was mesmerizing. She never picked up a real instrument, but she practically acted out her lyrics with her elbows, heels, tongue, wrists and fingers. She channeled a marionette, or a toy soldier, with kicked heels, flicked wrists and swaying hips.
During fan-favorite “First Love/Late Spring,” she stood on two chairs, teetering on the edge while singing the line “I would jump off of this edge I’m on.” But the chairs were some of her only props. She started and ended most of her songs on the ground, on all fours, staring at the ceiling or curled up. Her collapsing and growing from the floor followed the flow of a reflective set.
During “Heaven” from “The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We,” she slow-danced with the spotlight while a string quartet with a bit of twang played before collapsing to the floor.
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While Mitski did a lot of getting up, the crowd didn’t follow suit until her encore. Her finale “Fireworks” was anticlimactic, as it followed the rest of the set’s smooth, lulling style matching the new album.
But, after a brief pause, everyone was on their feet for her encore of “Nobody” and “Washing Machine Heart” — two of her most popular songs from 2018’s successful “Be the Cowboy.”
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Opener Tamino, an unassuming Belgian singer with two albums, opened to a rapt crowd. His solo set, with a few guitars, was highlighted by his multi-octave range that had the crowd silently listening and cheering in earnest.
Setlist for Mitski at MGM Music Hall Fenway on Feb. 15, 2024
- Everyone
- Buffalo Replaced
- Working for the Knife
- The Frost
- The Deal
- Valentine, Texas
- I Bet on Losing Dogs
- Thursday Girl
- Geyser
- I Love Me After You
- First Love/Late Spring
- Star
- Heaven
- I Don’t Like My Mind
- Happy
- My Love Mine All Mine
- Last Words of a Shooting Star
- Pink in the Night
- I’m Your Man
- I Don’t smoke
- Bug Like an Angel
- Love Me More
- Fireworks
Encore
- Nobody
- Washing Machine Heart
Mitski will be back at MGM Music Hall at Fenway, 2 Lansdown St., Boston, Friday-Sunday, Feb. 16-18, at 8 p.m.
@bostondotcom Mitski brought her newest album — complete with languid movements and rushes of energy — to Boston with a folk-style set covering her hits from the past decade. The “Washing Machine Heart” singer opened her four-night stop in Boston at MGM Music Hall at Fenway, where she’ll play nightly through Sunday. The show included 10 of her new album’s 11 songs, including the hit “My Love Mine All Mine.” She mimed strumming a guitar for the entirety of “The Frost” and slow-danced with a mic stand during “Valentine, Texas.” Mitski’s voice was overpowered at points by the band, but she was mesmerizing, writes Boston.com’s Molly Farrar. Read her full review at the link in our bio. Stay tuned for more show highlights —including one where Mistki has a real heart to heart with Boston. 🎸 #mitski #boston #bostondotcom ♬ original sound – Boston.com
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