MITSKI
Mitski: The Met, Philadelphia, PA. 2/6/24.
“It was a beautiful night.”
Mitski, describing not her first of two nights at The Met Philly, but instead talking about a legendary moment in February 2018, when the Eagles won the Super Bowl.
She was in Philadelphia that night. She tells the audience that this is when she knew she loved this city - watching people climb pre-greased poles, letting chaos reign.
That same year, I watched Mitski open up for Lorde at the Wells Fargo Center. In a full-circle chain of events, they’re both headlining and selling out the same venues.
Mitski’s time on stage was pure theater. The entire set was choreographed, the lighting and stage design so prominent and interactive that they felt like additional people on stage.
In one moment, we see Mitski slow-dancing with a spotlight. In another, the lights are acting as walls, holding her inside a small circular platform.
The crowd was respectful, mostly. At one point, someone yelled to the crowd “mother is mothering,” and it seemed like every other person in The Met yelled back for them to shut up. Later in the night, Mitski took a minute to tell us she can’t actually hear us because of her in-ears and all anyone is doing is yelling at their neighbors.
Opener Tamino boldly took to the gigantic stage with just his guitars, and lush lighting. He’s a stunningly haunting vocalist, which makes sense when you learn his grandfather is Muharram Fouad - commonly known as “the sound of the Nile,” per the BBC.
Tamino opened with “Indigo Night,” a very lyric heavy, storytelling song. This track sits in his lower register, which made his closing song “Habibi” stand out because of the seemingly effortless falsetto it ends with.
Mitski seems to be finding the fun in her music, taking past versions of herself less seriously. Many of her most gut wrenching songs became fast paced and danceable. Most notably “Happy,” “I Don’t Smoke” and “Pink in the Night.”
Her reinterpretations of the songs left a fresh feeling on her old music. Mitski shows that no matter what version of yourself you are, there’s always space for the past, even if it looks a little different.
Shot and Written by Danielle Ciampaglia.
