Father John Misty w/ Entrance
Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
05.24.17
From entertainment to politics, there’s very little in the modern cultural landscape that Josh Tillman–via his Father John Misty persona–isn’t ready and willing to skewer. Be it self-righteousness or ironic art or both, Tillman’s latest release, Pure Comedy, is rich in grandiose themes. That personality rings even truer in person, where during his live show Tillman broods with the best of them.
During his first run of tour dates for the album, Tillman popped into Seattle’s historic Paramount Theatre with a full orchestra. There were backdrops of celestial bodies and gloriously staged lighting. And there was Tillman, front and center, alone. Ever the entertaining satirist.
During shows for his 2015 album, I Love You, Honeybear, Tillman was debonair. A ladies man. A heartbreaker. Now, his character has shifted with the music. He was serious, subdued, darkly humorous. Despite what can be an off-putting amount of honesty and awkwardness Tillman puts out into the world, his has legions of fans that subscribe to his satire. And at The Paramount, they crowded against the barricade to sing every word back to him.
Tillman is nothing if not a showman, using body language and cacophonous, sweeping orchestration to paint backdrops for his deadpan lyricism. And he’s good at it. He’s saying what others don’t want to see. He’s a dreamboat of a guy who knows how to dress. He’s probably smarter than most of us and puts on a hell of a live show.
Guy Blakeslee’s Entrance opened the show with a set of emotionally commanding troubadour tracks that, while spare, were like a spewing of manic energy. Blakeslee’s trembling vibrato met jingle bells and powerful vocal harmonies. Bluesy and evocative, Entrance’s tracks are Bright Eyes-meets-psychedelic guitars, and it’s beautiful.
Review and photos by Stephanie Dore
Father John Misty
Entrance
