The Moon Shines Down on Mitski's Summer Tour
Photo / Juli Yanai (@jbelle.photo)
Under the magic of the full moon, Ethel Cain stepped out on the stage at Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre as the opener for Mitski this past Tuesday. Standing before the crowd, she blew us away with her hauntingly wispy vocals. Opening her performance with “Dust Bowl”, Cain continued through an array of tracks with piercing lyrics tackling intimate subjects. With each song Cain took us further into her Gothic Americana universe, plunging us into reminiscence of youthful love affairs and questions of identity with lines like, “I owe you a black eye and two kisses,” in the song “Crush”. Her stripped down, raw performance was a testament to Cain’s ability to create an atmosphere through presence and vocals alone and a perfectly evocative performance to lead into Mitski’s set.
And with Cain’s exit, the deep blue lights faded to black and were replaced with a curious contraption. A large cylinder of sheer satin curtains covered an elevated platform on the center of the stage. Shortly after, as cheers swooped through the audience, Mitski emerged. Staring up at the large contraption, she looked at it with curiosity before stepping behind its sheer walls. Then, from within its large cylindrical structure her stature grew tenfold as her loose silhouette could be seen while she began to sing, “Everyone”. And as musicians surrounded her below the elevated platform, the audience could hear Mitski’s voice behind the elusive figure on stage.
As she continued through her performance, suddenly, in a theatrical spectacle the curtains came crashing down in an explosion of light as Mitski revealed herself to the crowd. Launching into the next song, she continued with a dramatic performance dancing under the spotlight and occasionally taking a moment to engage in casual conversation with the audience. Between songs, Mitski’s humble presence shined through as she talked about the long road of pursuing a career in music, giving reassurance to young musicians and reminding us of her humanness.
Watching her dance across the stage with a slight air of goofiness truly felt like she was there to have fun, share her art and indulge in the night with us. Yet at the same time, her musical prowess and the emotional depth behind her lyrics in songs like “First Love/Late Spring” and “I Bet on Losing Dogs” created an aura of magnetism.
Overall, Mitski’s multifaceted presence was truly a delight and listening to her songs incuding popular hits like, “My Love Mine All Mine” with the moon shining down on us all at Red Rocks was a truly mystical experience to behold.
Words and Images: Juli Yanai
