Mitski created a gut-wrenching haven in the Albert Hall, vulnerably sharing poignant emotion to a small room of people.
Everything about this show was deliberate, amalgamating in what could only be described as intensely impressive – it was stripped back and yet theatrical. Mitski used the beautiful refurbished church we were seated in to her full advantage, moving to make it part of her performance, particularly in songs like The Deal and Heaven, gesturing up higher towards the stained-glass windows.
Mitski’s music, especially this new album ‘The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We’ immerses the listener into a dimension slightly separate from the real world no matter where they are, and the small seated theatres she has chosen for this tour are the perfect manifestations of this atmosphere.
She bared her soul with only a cello and a guitar to support her (exposing the beautiful quality of Mitski’s voice in such close proximity), and every motion she performed was deliberate, purposefully expressing something that the audience couldn’t access from listening to the recorded album alone.
The whole audience sat in respectful silence for all eleven songs of the new album. The only reminders that I was not sat alone with Mitski were the eruptions of appreciation in between songs that also on occasion snapped her out of character, allowing her to talk to the audience, and in one playful moment comically berate her guitarist for forgetting the start of the song. This break was a lovely and rare spontaneous exchange, where she jokingly shouted “no pressure” at him and the audience as we all encouraged him to find the right note.
Overall, though, the focus that Mitski subconsciously demanded from her audience made it a performance rather than a traditional concert. There was unspoken theatre etiquette in place that suited the show as we were sat silently, with the majority of people not touching their phones at all during to film, which enhanced the experience’s sense of scarcity.
After the new album had been performed in its entirety, Mitski expressed her gratitude and invited the rows of people to join her in singing some of her older songs.
The atmosphere she had created allowed everyone to remain quiet and respectful, acting only as a choir to accompany her rather than the manic buzz of shouted lyrics you would expect at a concert. Sat in ordered pews with tear-stained cheeks softly singing with Mitski and the small number of other lucky fans was such a beautifully unique experience and one I doubt anyone could replicate.
You may wonder why an artist with more than 18 million monthly Spotify listeners and currently climbing the top 20 charts for the third consecutive week right now would only perform to three small rooms of 1,000 people or less in the UK. Artists with similar scope successfully sell arena tours but, whether it was primarily for Mitski’s benefit or the benefit of the audience, it is impossible not to recognise that this is exactly how this album is meant to be heard. I wish more people could experience it but with an artist like Mitski, who has ditched her live music career and vowed never to play live again already, fans have to take what they can get and it is quite empowering to see an artist perform exactly the way she believes she should.