Mitski’s off-kilter folk pop is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a TikTok hit, but the musician’s intricate anthems of loneliness, hope and desire were embraced by a new generation during COVID and they haven’t let go since.
It’s given the once-comfortably cult Mitski a breakout moment that even she has seemed surprised by. Earlier this year, she played four nights at London’s Eventim Apollo in support of 2023’s gorgeous, lovelorn album The Land is Inhospitable And So Are We and on Sunday night, she returned to the capital to headline All Points East Festival in Victoria Park.
Rather than shy away from all the attention though, the biggest show of her already-ambitious The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We tour saw Mitski loud and proud about the unique world she has created. “I cannot escape the spotlight,” she giggled onstage after playfully trying to outrun the lights following her.
The show opened with the dreamy Everyone, as Mitski threw herself into the heavily stylised show. A physical performer, every song had moments of choreography that ranged from sleek interpretative dance to cartoonish dog impressions with giddy melodrama the flavour of the night.
Three songs into the theatrical, bewitching set, Mitski broke character and addressed the audience. “I’m so happy you’re here. You made it,” she said, before she encouraged the crowd to limber up. “You didn’t think you needed that, did you,” she added before she dived back into her surreal world of self-expression.
It was definitely not a conventional festival headline set. Production was pretty much a chair and a series of spotlights and despite being backed by a seven-piece band, the entire show rested squarely on Mitski’s shoulders as both a vocalist and a dancer. It could have been self-indulgent if it didn’t inspire such communal joy.
Sure, a bulk of her back catalogue cycles through loss and loneliness, but the likes of First Love/Late Spring and Love Me More offered soaring lessons in demanding what you want while the country twang of I Don’t Smoke, the jubilant pop of Pink In The Night and the fuzzy acceptance of Washing Machine Heart inspired carefree dance parties throughout the crowd.
From viral smash My Love Mine All Mine [1.1billion Spotify streams and counting] to the twinkling Nothing, a song about romance at the end of the world, the entire show celebrated the power Mitski’s music wields.
It didn’t matter how the enthralled audience first discovered it, there was a warm unity throughout Victoria Park as the 24-song setlist pulled from across her past decade of music. More than anything, the show was proof that Mitski can play massive shows to thousands of people without sacrificing the artsy intimacy that has always set her apart.
