Mitski brought her brilliant stage show to Knuckleheads Garage on Saturday (photos, review)
The “yeehaw agenda” — the reclamation of country and western culture by non-white, women, and LGBTQ people — has reached something like a fever pitch over the past few years. Both Knowles sisters give nods to their southern heritage on recent records, Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour achieved massive crossover success, and on Friday Lil Nas X released a Billy Ray Cyrus remix to his viral country trap hit, “Old Town Road,” which has popped up on half the Instagram stories I’ve watched since.
Mitski — full name: Mitski Miyawaki — is another example. Since graduating earlier this decade from Purchase College’s Conservatory of Music in New York, she’s been a darling of the American music media — part of a new generation of avant-garde indie-rock figures. Her third and fourth albums, Bury Me At Makeout Creek and Puberty 2, earned her a loyal fanbase, more positive reviews, and a support slot on a 2017 Pixies tour. Then came last year’s Be The Cowboy.
Other “yeehaw” figures have taken things somewhat literally, donning the headwear, invoking steel guitar licks, and rhyming about horses. But the titular Cowboy here is Mitski, lassoing her moment in the spotlight — the sweetheart of her own rodeo.
Be The Cowboy made every year-end list that matters. Following its release, Mitski opened a leg of Lorde’s arena tour, and almost every show she’s headlined since has sold out. On Saturday at Knuckleheads Garage, a handful of cowboy hats bobbed atop a crowd of fans that was likely one of the youngest and most diverse the root-and-blues joint has ever hosted. What at first seemed like a peculiar venue choice began to make sense: Be the cowboy.
Mitski appeared wearing a white shirt, black belt, black exercise shorts, white knee pads, white socks, and black shoes. She stood alone in the middle of the stage for most of the 70-minute set — just her, a chair, and a sturdy kitchen table on which she performed choreographed interpretive dances so powerful and sensual I’m surprised nobody fainted. The quieter moments saw her utilizing the table the way teenagers in movies act in bed: rolling around, lying on her back, slowly pedaling an invisible bicycle in the air above her. Other times, it looked as though she was doing a pre-workout stretch routine. It was Stop Making Sense, a military parade, maybe a little Madonna. She upended the table during the soaring climax of “Geyser”; danced and played a devilish game of hide-and-seek behind the table on the boisterous punk throwback “Townie”; and, during “Happy,” sat on the floor, leaning against the table, wantonly bouncing her legs to the pulsating synths.
The band was loud and tight, but deliberately outside the spotlight. Mitski was in complete control. Only when a passing train sounded its horn did she break character, cracking a smile that seemed to relay real warmth and appreciation for our city, as she later alluded to on Twitter.
As she demonstrated on “Your Best American Girl” and other songs from earlier in her catalog, Mitski can still soar over distorted guitars and other indie-rock scenery, but part of what has allowed her to reach new heights is her embrace of the dance beat. She’s said in interviews that it was primarily to avoid being pigeonholed as a rocker, but the disco-funk sensibilities of recent Mitski records fit her just right. “Nobody” — the most popular Cowboy cut — received a response, thanks to the majority-female crowd, that could only be described as politely rapturous. (The video for “Nobody,” directed by Kansas Citian Christopher Good, was filmed here in town.) But the whole show was hypnotizing. Mitski has created a simple stage experience that felt immediately timeless.
Led by singer-songwriter Melina Duterte, Jay Som’s opening set consisted of breezy indie-rock songs both delicate and playful. Between big smiles, Duterte remarked that the venue gave her “strong Guitar Hero vibes.”
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