Mitski review – pop meets performance art in a masterful spectacle

Review Mitski review – pop meets performance art in a masterful spectacle The Shed, New York City At a six-night residency, the singer creates an immersive world filled with wry humor and big emotions Mitski was one of the great social media posters before the internet tried to swallow her whole. “I used to rebel by destroying myself, but realized that’s awfully convenient to the world,” went a 2016 tweet from the musician, who long ago nuked that account. “For some of us, our best revolt is self-preservation.” As her career has skyrocketed with multiple TikTok-powered streaming juggernauts following the 2018 viral hit Nobody , Mitski has gradually withdrawn from the public eye and declined most interviews. Over her last few albums, she has adopted a mode of performance that contrasts with the emotion of her lyrics: on the tour to support 2018’s Be the Cowboy, she used plain folding chairs and tables as props in a performance that felt almost robotic in its precision. On the third show of a six-night residency at the Shed in New York, that choreography-as-armor is transformed into an assured looseness; she wears a stark white button down, fitted vest and and black slacks, affecting a 90s Hugh Grant insouciance. A stage set re-creates a fictional cozy residence, complete with two lamps that cast a soft glow over cushy chaises. Tonight’s masterful set spans her catalogue but is mainly drawn from her new album, Nothing’s About to Happen to Me . During opener In a Lake, Mitski strides out, unrushed and measured, joining her five-person band to greet a crowd of more than 2,000 who cheer with appreciation. Backed by only acoustic guitar, she croons under soft purple light, creating a hush over the audience with her rich, soaring vocals in the same way that she used to in venues a 20th of the size. As with her previous tours, her live singing voice tops any recording. Mitski understands how to caricature American pastiche better than most. During a thrumming rendition of t...