Known for penning melodic, yet volatile, indie rock songs about love and the ensuing pain that it causes, Mitski, with her latest groundbreaking release, Be the Cowboy, (which topped virtually every best-of list), has reinvented herself as a true performance artist, using the entirety of her body, and not just her voice, to channel the emotional range of her songs.
With a stage setup comprised of a white table, chair and microphone perched in its stand on the tabletop, Mitski sat down and launched into "Why Didn't You Stop Me." Beginning as if she was about to give a speech to a board of investors, she then, slowly, began to perform a series of calculated movements, punctuating the lyrics with sharp, yoga-style poses on top of the table while singing "I know that I ended it, but why won't you chase after me?"
Moving through "Old Friend" and "Dan the Dancer," as well as "Francis Forever" off of 2014's Bury Me At Makeout Creek, she gave the crowd a bit of "an insider secret" in her soft, endearing voice: that Osheaga has "the best artist catering in the world," and that her and her band were "so honoured and glad to eat the catering."
Silly, sexual and vulnerable in equal measure, she continued her set in earnest, crawling across the floor, flipping the table over to hide behind it while she sang, and performing spread-eagled in the chair as she belted out crowd-favourites "First Love/Late Spring," "Geyser," "A Pearl," "Thursday Girl" and "Your Best American Girl."
Adding that "some of you must have thought that this show wouldn't be quite like this, but just wait," before launching into "Liquid Smooth" off of 2012's Lush, Mitski ended triumphantly with "Drunk Walk Home," giving the finger to the crowd as she yelled "fuck you and your money."
With a stage setup comprised of a white table, chair and microphone perched in its stand on the tabletop, Mitski sat down and launched into "Why Didn't You Stop Me." Beginning as if she was about to give a speech to a board of investors, she then, slowly, began to perform a series of calculated movements, punctuating the lyrics with sharp, yoga-style poses on top of the table while singing "I know that I ended it, but why won't you chase after me?"
Moving through "Old Friend" and "Dan the Dancer," as well as "Francis Forever" off of 2014's Bury Me At Makeout Creek, she gave the crowd a bit of "an insider secret" in her soft, endearing voice: that Osheaga has "the best artist catering in the world," and that her and her band were "so honoured and glad to eat the catering."
Silly, sexual and vulnerable in equal measure, she continued her set in earnest, crawling across the floor, flipping the table over to hide behind it while she sang, and performing spread-eagled in the chair as she belted out crowd-favourites "First Love/Late Spring," "Geyser," "A Pearl," "Thursday Girl" and "Your Best American Girl."
Adding that "some of you must have thought that this show wouldn't be quite like this, but just wait," before launching into "Liquid Smooth" off of 2012's Lush, Mitski ended triumphantly with "Drunk Walk Home," giving the finger to the crowd as she yelled "fuck you and your money."