Father John Misty- Pure Comedy Tour

As part of his sideshows for the Laneway Festival, Father John Misty (aka Josh Tillman) played a sold out show tonight at The Forum in support of his latest album Pure Comedy. This was a bigger, more traditional rock venue than when he came through town last year. Opening the evening was Jack Ladder and The Dreamlanders. They mainly played new tracks off their upcoming album, with the single "Susan" being my favorite song in the set.

The driving drum beat of "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" kicked off Father John Misty's set as he walked out on stage. It was a sign of things to come as his first two albums featured prominently in the set list, which mixed some deep album cuts along with better known tracks such as "Nancy From Now On," "Only Son Of A Ladiesman," "Fun Times In Babylon," "Chateau Lobby #4 (In C For Two Virgins)," "Bored In The USA" and "I Love You, Honeybear."

Josh himself was unusually quiet for most of the evening and limited his banter in between songs. The middle section of the set was more slow and country tinged, which could have been a hint at his mood. One of the most meta moments of the evening was when he performed "The Night Josh Tillman Came To Our Apt." complete with the video which stars him in all the roles playing on the screen behind him.

I was happy we did get some Pure Comedy tracks in the second half of the two hour set, including "Total Entertainment Forever," "Things It Would Have Been Helpful To Know Before The Revolution" "Ballad Of The Dying Man" and "Pure Comedy," which kicked off the encore. It was during the encore that someone in the crowd started blowing bubbles, which made Josh crack a smile as they flew past him on stage. The night finished with "Holy Shit" and a rocking version of "The Ideal Husband." It sounds like there is a new album on the horizon for this year, so hopefully he will be back soon for another show in Melbourne.

Here's the video for "Things It Would Have Been Helpful To Know Before The Revolution":

Father John Misty- Melbourne Recital Centre

While out in Australia for Splendour In The Grass, Father John Misty scheduled a couple of intimate sideshows in support of his latest album Pure Comedy. Tonight's sold out show was at the Melbourne Recital Centre. Opening the evening was singer-songwriter Angie McMahon, who played a solo set on electric guitar and sounded fantastic with her deep voice and atmospheric songs.

Father John Misty's band emerged on the stage first and then Josh Tillman came out to join them as they launched into the opening song "Pure Comedy." The first four songs of the set were in order off the new album with "Total Entertainment Forever," "Things It Would Have Been Helpful To Know Before The Revolution" and "Ballad Of The Dying Man." Josh danced and gyrated around the stage throughout the night and delivered those wonderful lyrics in his typical self-deprecating and deadpan manner. It was great to hear "When You're Smiling And Astride Me," "Fun Times In Babylon," "Nancy From Now On" and "True Affection."

Josh wasn't as chatty as the other times I've seen him live, but he did have a few funny interactions with the crowd. In response to a guy shouting out his love he spoke of reaching his aim of being "knee deep in random dudes." He also joked about facial hair and the controversy around his moustache when the album came out (and its association with paedophiles) so he has grown back his beard (which he noted is associated with murderers). Towards the end of the set a few people were brave enough to jump up out of their seats at the start of "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" and he then invited the rest of the crowd to get up for "I Love You, Honeybear," which closed out the main set.

For the encore as we were all still standing, Josh joked that they were going to scrap their sophisticated encore and just play bangers. We were treated to "Read Love Baby," "Holy Shit" and "The Ideal Husband." It was great to get the opportunity to see Father John Misty play in a more intimate and relaxed setting, but I'm sure he'll be hitting bigger venues when he comes back to Australia to tour the album.

Here's the video for "Pure Comedy"

Father John Misty- The Forum

Tonight Father John Misty played a second night at The Forum in a sold out show to support his latest album I Love You, Honeybear. Opening the evening was Tame Impala bass player Cam Avery, who played a solo set mostly on guitar, with some piano and loops thrown in.

The band came out and started playing "I Love You, Honeybear," with Father John Misty (aka Josh Tillman) emerging on stage in time for the first verse. Dressed in all black he writhed around the stage and sounded fantastic as he sang songs off both his albums. Highlights of the set included "True Affection," "When You're Smiling And Astride Me" and "Chateau Lobby #4 (In C For Two Virgins)" off I Love You, Honeybear and "Only Son Of A Ladiesman," "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" and "Nancy From Now On" from Fear Fun. Josh was hilarious and interacted with the crowd all night. He asked how many people had jumped on the bandwagon due to his best limited edition packaging Grammy nomination for I Love You, Honeybear. Then during "Bored In The USA" he grabbed someone's phone midway through and filmed himself singing with the crowd able to see his face on the phone screen.

For the encore Josh began with a Q&A session with the crowd, with the most interesting response being the last one where he combined two questions: Are you into butt play and why the alter ego? He then played "I Went To The Store One Day" solo on guitar to a hushed crowd, and brought out the band to finish the night with "Everyman Needs A Companion." It was a great show and a pleasure to watch such an entertaining frontman have the audience in the palm of his hand.

Here's the video for "I Love You, Honeybear"

Father John Misty

It was another hot day in Melbourne but that didn't deter me from heading down to The Hi-Fi Bar tonight to see Father John Misty.  Luckily for me Oh Mercy was the opening band for the night.  First Alex came out and did "Lady Eucalyptus" on electric guitar solo, then was joined by Rohan to play "Europa."  Finally Simon and Eliza came on stage and the band launched into "Still Making Me Pay."  Everyone was dressed very nicely with the boys in their various colored suits and Eliza in a black dress.  The whole set was tight and unrelenting as they played songs off of Deep Heat including "Drums," "Rebel Beats," "Fever," "Pilgrim's Blues" and "My Man."  They finished like they did last week with a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Memories."  It was a very impressive set and the best I've seen them play in a while.  If I didn't already know their music I would have been a new convert.

Father John Misty (aka Joshua Tillman) and his band came onto the stage to big cheers from the crowd and opened with "Fun Times In Babylon."  I actually saw him a bit over a year ago when he was still playing drums in Fleet Foxes.  Joshua is quite a charismatic front man with his unique dance moves and poses while singing.  The whole set featured songs from his album Fear Fun, including my favorites "Nancy From Now On," "Only Son Of A Ladiesman," "Now I'm Learning To Love The War," and "Well, You Can Do It Without Me."  The in between song banter was quite funny throughout the night and may have been aided by jet lag after the long flight to Australia.  They finished the main set with an epic version of "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" and returned to the stage for an encore that started with the new song "I Love You, Honey Bear" before finishing with a cover of Canned Heat's "On the Road Again."  Overall it was an excellent show with two very talented singer-songwriters and their bands.

Here's the video for "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings"