Review: Mitski unleashes 'Laurel Hell' at the Palace Theatre
by Macie Rasmussen and Sara Fish
March 15, 2022
When Mitski announced her indefinite hiatus from music in 2019, it was uncertain if audiences would stand in her presence again. So when tickets to her North American tour went on sale last October, they sold out within a day. Last night, Palace Theatre reached its capacity of 2,500 guests, and lines extended past the cobblestone courtyard in front of the theater and circled around the block. What followed long wait times was the drama of a 75-minute performance that blurred the lines between the artist and spectators.
As gentle keys began to play, an illuminated door surrounded with smoke stood in the middle of the stage. Mitski slowly entered, bowing to the left of the crowd, then bowing to the right. Mutual respect filled the room. Part of her return to the stage was a simple request that phones won’t make extended appearances in the crowd. On Twitter, Mitski recently stated: “When I’m on stage and look to you but you are gazing into a screen, it makes me feel as though those of us on stage are being taken from and consumed as content, instead of getting to share a moment with you.” With minimal screens present, attendees honored that request.
The set evenly dispersed songs from Mitski’s four most recent albums, taking us through the scope of her career and demonstrating shifts from indie-rock to synth-pop. She started with “Love Me More” from January’s release, Laurel Hell. Five songs in, squeals escaped mouths as soon as the opening drum rhythm of “Me and My Husband” began. The opening words, “I steal a few breaths / From the world for a minute / And then I'll be nothing forever,” transported the room back to 2018’s release of Be the Cowboy. The audience sang along to almost every song throughout the night.
Throughout the set, if someone looked away for a few seconds, they’d miss a meaningful moment. Mitski’s movement was simultaneously chaotic and calculated — spontaneous yet controlled. During “Love Me More,” she began with her arms gracefully outstretched. She concluded by aggressively scrubbing her whole body to the lyrics, “Love me enough to clean me up / Clean me up, clean me up.” The song “Drunk Walk Home” accompanied excruciating punching and kicks in the air, as well as screaming in agony. Even when Mitski stood in front of the microphone, her delicate hand motions and sharp gestures kept eyes locked on her. The Monday night anthem, “Working for the Knife,” had her pulling out a knife to pretend to slit her throat.
Actions that conflicted with words were alluring. In “Happy,” a track off of the album Puberty 2, her face projected a fake smile while her body shifted robotically. And with pleasantly breathy vocals, Mitski skipped around joyfully during “First Love / Late Spring” while singing about the grievances of lost love. The lyrics, “And I was so young / When I behaved / Twenty five / Yet now I find / I’ve grown into a tall child” could describe another characteristic of her performance: childlike. Not in an immature way, but rather defined by impulsive, unashamed demonstration.
A theme of Mitski’s music is the feeling of being pulled back and forth on the full spectrum of emotion. Lukewarm feelings don’t exist. In a live performance, these extremes are even more distinct. In “Stay Soft,” she sang about searching for relief when coping with pain. In the next song, “Townie,” she described a desire for intense and dangerous adventure, pacing back and forth under red light.
Mitski closed with “A Pearl.” Its building sentiments of yearning and frustration resembled the feeling of insomnia, but the singer didn’t leave us on edge. After exiting the stage and swiftly returning, she lulled the crowd to sleep by repeating the ultimate words, “To think that we could stay the same,” in “Two Slow Dancers.” It was the only still moment of the night. Because the artist orchestrated the sensation of true theater, attendees’ minds will undoubtedly solidify memories of Mar. 14 without digital documentation. Mitski’s presence was more cherished than consumed.
Before Mitski delivered her mind-tingling act, MICHELLE, a group consisting of Sofia D’Angelo, Julian Kaufman, Charlie Kilgore, Layla Ku, Emma Lee and Jamee Lockard, opened the show. The four vocalists took turns dancing upon a center-stage platform and executed smooth, wavy choreography similar to a synchronized swimming routine. They wound up the crowd with funky pop and R&B to prepare for the headliner’s heavy, striking occupancy.
Set list
Love Me More
Should’ve Been Me
Francis Forever
First Love / Late Spring
Me and My Husband
Stay Soft
Townie
I Don’t Smoke
Once More to See You
Nobody
I Will
Drunk Walk Home
Happy
Your Best American Girl
I Bet on Losing Dogs
The Only Heartbreaker
Geyser
Working for the Knife
Heat Lightning
Goodbye, My Danish Sweetheart
Washing Machine Heart
A Pearl
Encore:
Two Slow Dancers
