Live Report: Mitski delivers mesmerising theatrics in 3Arena

Standing atop of a platform in the centre of the 3Arena stage on Saturday, in plain black clothing, her movements perfectly measured, Mitski looked as much a character in a play as she did a music performer.

The feeling of watching a theatre show rather than a concert began with her opening song ‘Everyone’ and stayed unshakable throughout the evening. From the seated-only pit, the audience stared at Mitski in awe, her smooth vocals accompanying a choreography that made her seem liquid.

After a dazzling performance of ‘Working For the Knife’, the singer took a second to stop and thank Andy Watson for his work on visual design and lighting production. “It’s easy to look impressive when everyone sets it up for you like this,” she chuckled

Mitski at 3Arena 4-5-24. Copyright Peter O'Hanlon.

While the stage production was spectacular, with its careful use of shadows and lighting, it’s the way Mitski played with her environment and her lyrics that made the show – using a shower of white light as a dance partner during ‘Heaven’, or getting on all fours, tongue out for ‘I Bet On Losing Dogs’.

The way she acted out her lyrics were the perfect accompaniment to her soft spoken-vocals and their tendency to find their way into the audience’s bones and pierce their hearts.

It was hard not to feel emotional while she fought an imaginary enemy during the bridge of ‘Geyser’, or almost fell from the chair she was standing on while she sang “One word from you and I will jump off of this ledge” from ‘First Love/Late Spring’.

Yet no visual element of the show came off as excessive, instead deliberate and uncompromising on the quality of Mitski’s performance.

Mitski at 3Arena 4-5-24. Copyright Peter O'Hanlon.

The show’s sound was also completely cohesive throughout. While a majority of the set-list came from her latest album The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, Mitski also played some older classics, like ‘Love Me More’, turning this fluttering up-tempo track into country inflated orchestral pop, following the line of her most recent record.

Accompanied by seven stage musicians – including a fiddle and an organ player, the singer felt big no matter the size of the stage, capable of delivering gentle and whispery vocals for ‘Star’ as much as belting out high notes on on ‘Geyser’ and reaching deep in her stomach to sing ‘Valentine, Texas’.

It was during the encore performance of ‘Nobody’ and ‘Washing Machine Heart’ that the audience seemed to come out of their trance-like state, maybe because Mitski took the opportunity to act more freely and interact with the crowd directly, or because they realised that the show was coming to an end, and that they would need to see her leave soon.

Walking off the 3Arena stage, Mitski left the audience with the bittersweet feeling of saying goodbye to an amazing performer.