Photos + Review | Father John Misty @ The Paradise

Photos by Boston Concert Photography

Tuesday night was rife with anticipation. It’d be a few years since we saw the sass factory that is Father John Misty, and we all here at Music Savage are particularly fond of his catalog of music, his stage dancing, and his banter.

Settling in to a packed Paradise Rock Club, with the lights down low, and an unlit “No Photography,” neon sign adorning the background of the stage, I couldn’t help but feel some anxiety about what could happen on stage over the next few hours. As the lights came up, Misty started the evening off with the title track off his new album, “I Love You Honeybear.” I was curious what the band would be like going in to this tour blind, and they delivered on all sides of the two records. There were lavish arrangements that surrounded Tillman’s sarcastic, autobiographical songwriting throughout the 90 minute set. They seamlessly tied together the varied genres across FJM’s creative output, gladly handling the soulful, the orchestral, the electronic and into the rock dirges.

You get two really amazing things at a Misty show, you get fantastic music, written with some amazing creativity, and then you get Josh Tillman. Tillman has become a perfect frontman, and god knows why anyone ever sat him behind a drum kit. He’s quick witted, extremely charming, hilarious, and god can that guy dance.

My words won’t do justice the live show, or the pictures below, but I can say unequivocally, this tour will be and should be one of your favorites to have attended this year. The band was amazing, Misty’s new record is phenomenal and marrying the two in a live setting is something well worth the price of admission.