Live Report: Mitski captivates adoring crowd at Dublin's Vicar Street

On the same night Lucy Dacus graced the 3Olympia Stage, Mitski (Mitsuki Laycock) walked across the Vicar Street stage with her five band members, with a large white door as her backdrop. Support act SASAMI unfortunately had to pull out of numerous tour dates, but the tension naturally built for the alternative/indie sensation's arrival. At 9pm on the dot, Mitski slowly emerged barefoot and wearing a billowing white dress. The screams from the crowd could easily have burst eardrums; audience members belting out her extensive setlist before she had even landed in Dublin airport.

Launching into her recent Laurel Hell track 'Love Me More', her clan of devoted followers knew every word. Photographers weren't permitted at the show, which Mitski intentionally builts as an intimate, magical experience. In a string of tweets, the 31-year old previously posted a "note" for her concertgoers to consider their mobile phone habits when the show is already live. Although not against taking photos and videos, Mitski pointed out that when some fans film an entire performance, it makes her "feel as though we are not here together," going both when she's onstage or as a fan watching.

When she sees people stuck in their screens, the Dead Oceans signee feels artists like her were "being taken from and consumed as content" instead of sharing the moment with the fans live: "I love shows for the feeling of connection, of sharing a dream, and remembering that we have a brief miraculous moment of being alive at the same time, before we part ways. I feel I’m part of something bigger." At Vicar Street, phones were up but most were simply submerged in their feelings.

With colour block lighting that flickered and changed with each song, 'Love Me More' was performed in a hue of emerald. The singer infused the lyricism in her body movements, elegant and pointed. Making full use of her limbs and hands, it nearly resembles musical tai-chi. "Here's my hand / There's the itch / But I'm not supposed to scratch," she crooned, her voice powerful but delicate. Each note and dance move is chosen with all the care and precision of a perfectionist.

'Should Have Been Me' sees her pretend to knock at the white door while '80s synths blare above an infectious beat. "I haven't given you what you need / You wanted me but couldn't reach me / I'm sorry it should've been me," she sang, crystal clear vocals ringing out. "Must be lonely loving someone tryna find their way out of a maze," she posits. As her fans consistently assert, Mitski chooses emotional violence with her lyrics.

The light switches to orange during the yearning-fuelled 'Francis Forever', a fan favourite with raw, impulsive guitar riffs. Taken from her 2014 album Bury Me at Makeout Creek, the singer's riveting rock chorus is shouted at full blast in the venue: "I don't need the world to see / That I've been the best I can be, but I don't think I could stand to be / Where you don't see me." A wall of sound from the stage can't compete with the Dubliners.

2014's 'First Love / Late Spring' and 2018 Be the Cowboy track 'Me and my Husband' followed briskly, and the energy never wavered. It's as if the New York-based artist and composer has to stay fully in character or break the spell. During the former, the wails of "One word from you and I would/ Jump off of this / Ledge I'm on / Baby," rang out. Her choir background clearly influenced the song, which has plenty of organ melodies and electric guitar drama. With a yellow light background, Mitski mimes choking herself at one point to evoke the haunting lyrics "I can't breathe" and the audience went absolutely wild. Feral is the only word to describe the scene.

'Stay Soft', 'Townie' and 'I Don't Smoke' are equally as hypnotic, the cinematic mood alternating between vivid red, bright green and neon purple stage lights. Each track has a sense, a different emotion, a smell - almost. Mitski clearly works hard to bottle her craft and release it all during performance. TikTok viral hit 'Nobody' gets one of the biggest receptions, predictably. The ridiculously catchy, otherworldly song currently sits at 192 million views on Spotify alone. It may be the reason why so many attendees appear to be in their late teens, possibly even seeing their first gig after Covid.

"I've been big and small / And big and small again...And still nobody wants me," she trills, softly. Diaristic confessions from the Japanese-American star connects her to the deepest, innermost turmoil of her listeners. Her vocal abilities blossom on Bury Me at Makeout Creek track 'I Will', where Mitski's distinctive intonation fills the packed out room. There's no need to be brave, the words insist, as the subject takes care of her loved one.

2014's 'Drunk Walk Home' features Mitski recall a night that didn't go her way, frustratingly. "For I'm starting to learn I may never be free / But though I may never be free / Fuck you and your money," she wails, disillusioned. Grunge guitar melodies evoke the anger and bitter disappointment behind her words, before her anguished screams turn the venue into the ultimate emo haven.

Nearly an hour in, Mitski speaks to the crowd directly, her knee pads visible under her dress. She does plenty of throwing herself around, so that was a wise choice in our view. "I'm so sorry to all of you in the back, oh my goodness," she says in her immediately-recognisable tone. "I see you, I love you. We heard you get the show started...we were saying that we don't even have to go onstage! We're very, very happy to be here. Thank you for having us."

"Let's get back into character," she giggles, smiling kindly at her loving fans." That she does, ahead of 2016 Puberty 2 number 'Your Best American Girl'. It's without a doubt one of the night's highlights, with a rousing chorus full of dramatic guitar noise.

'I Bet On Losing Dogs' causes tears to fall, delving into Mitski's sense of doom. Becoming involved in relationships that are ultimately destined to fail, she bets on her happiness - knowing she'll lose. I bump into a young girl in the bathroom, sobbing her eyes out.

"Are you okay, did you get elbowed in the face?" I ask, concerned. "No, no. It's just Mitski," she laughs through the dry-heaving. "'I Bet On Losing Dogs' always gets me." Chatting to Vicar Street staff, one remarks that only The Mary Wallopers the week before had such an intense fan response.

2022's 'The Only Heartbreaker', performed in purple light, featured Mitski miming slitting her throat. Co-written with Semisonic's Dan Wilson, the feverish pulse of Mitski's Laurel Hell song asks: When everything is charred and desolate, is there anything to do except dance?

Be the Cowboy's 'Geyser' and 'Heat Lightning' keep up the momentum, with 'Working for the Knife' proving one of her most popular new singles with the crowd. Decrying the 9-5 life, the song is about feeling left behind and confused at capitalism's purpose for you. Atmospheric, broody, eerie; it's Mitski at her best. Wielding a paper airplane in 'Goodbye My Danish Sweetheart', the musician prances around the stage with weightless ease.

"The next song is live karaoke," she tells the crowd, beaming quietly. It can only be 'Washing Machine Heart', an ode to the never-ending cycle of emotional labour. The twelfth track off Be the Cowboy is sonically upbeat, but lyrically explores the “manic” nature of Mitski's protagonist in a damaged relationship.

"You're growing tired of me / You love me so hard and I still can't sleep," she sings candidly on 2018's 'A Pearl'.

Mitski explained the meaning behind the song to The Fader, saying "For me, it was actually about when you have some kind of toxic relationship to yourself, or to another person, for so long that it becomes your identity. Even when you don’t need it anymore and you’ve stepped away from it, you still hold on to it because it’s scary to let it go — because if you actually let it go, it feels like erasing yourself. That song is about likening that sort of toxicity to a pearl. You just roll it around in your hand every night and just look at it, like it’s a pretty thing."

The singer concludes her lengthy set with Be the Cowboy's 'Two Slow Dancers' as the encore track. The song is about two old lovers who have reunited and reflecting in the adolescent setting of a school gymnasium: "They used to have something together that is no longer there and they’re trying to relive it in a dance, knowing that they’ll have to go home and go back to their lives." Some of the older fans seemed to find the teens screaming during 'Two Slow Dancers' (which Mitski likes to sing in silence) disrespectful.

Her gentle, riveting rendition of the piano track gets a rave response. Down-tempo and simple, it drives home her lyrics even further. Winding down the show, it's one last moment of being spellbound by Mitski before she smiles and says goodbye. "I hope your friend is okay," she says compassionately to a girl in the front row who's friend fainted. "We love you so much. Until next time." See you on June 22nd at the 3Olympia Theatre...

Revisit Hot Press' review of Laurel Hell.