Father John Misty Returns to Metro-Detroit

Caitlin Mahoney|September 20, 2017

Royal Oak, MI- On a humid fall day, the hipster icon, Father John Misty returns to Metro-Detroit. In tow he brings seven other band members and opening act, Weyes Blood. Among the crowd it is hard to tell if facial hair or flannels are more common. The Royal Oak Music Theater is mostly standing tickets and concert goers mingled before the show. Audience members congregated around the stage to hear Weyes Blood perform under candelabra.

After Weyes Blood concluded and the stage was set, a tall bearded figure in all black appears on the stage followed by several more people.

“It’s good to be back,” Josh Tillman, the man behind the Father John Misty alter ego, said. He then preceded to open the concert with the first four songs off of his new album Pure Comedy. He opened with the title track “Pure Comedy” then moved on to play “Total Entertainment Forever,” “Things That Would Have Been Helpful to Know Before the Revolution,” and “Ballad of the Dying Man.” He then returned with a song off of his 2012 album Fear Fun, “Nancy From Now On.” The show continued to have a wide mix of new Pure Comedy tracks and some from his highly acclaimed 2015 release I Love You, Honeybear.

The large crowd pleasers of the night were “Chateau Lobby #4 (in C For Two Virgins)” and “Hollywood Cemetery Sings.” Both songs were accompanied by blinding lights and vivid visuals displayed behind the band and Tillman. During songs off of Pure Comedy, album art was animated and projected.

After the set concluded with “I Love You, Honeybear,” Tillman and company returned for an encore. Before playing additional songs, he had a quick question and answer with the audience.

“What is the meaning of life?” one fan asked. “I’m not going to answer the meaning of life,” Tillman sternly said. He was also asked by an audience member about how he started his career in music, “I started because I was not good at anything else,” Tillman said. “I started [working] as a dishwasher, became estranged from my parents. Played drums in a bunch of bands, started using psychedelic drugs, [then] stopped using psychedelic drugs.” He stopped answering questions and played “I’m Growing Old on a Magic Mountain.” After which he reflected about his unique dancing style, “It’s just variations of ‘I’m a little tea pot’” Tillman chuckled. Next he started playing a slower version of “Holy Shit” and about half way through the song, it abruptly switched to faster and electric. “Holy Shit” led into the catchy song “Ideal Husband.” The show concluded with the stage going dark on the last beat drop of “Ideal Husband.”

Set List:

Pure Comedy

Total Entertainment Forever

Things That Would Have Been Helpful to Know Before the Revolution

Ballad of the Dying Man

Nancy From Now On

Chateau Lobby #4 (in C For Two Virgins)

Strange Encounter

Nothing Good Happens at the Goddamn Thirsty Crow

Only Son of the Ladiesman

When the God of Love Returns There’ll Be Hell to Pay

Smiling and Astride Me