Mitski captivates Chicago on night 1 of 4 sold out shows

Mitski

with support from Julia Jacklin

Auditorium Theatre, Chicago

March 21, 2024

By Roman Sobus

Opening night of a four night sold out run at Chicago’s beautiful Auditorium Theatre, Mitski gave up pure entertainment. There were no fancy video backgrounds, strobes or dancers, just her and the audience, her band barely visible providing the soundtrack for the performance. The lighting was spectacularly simple playing on her in pastel highlights and shadows.

A few seconds after making her appearance on stage, she disappeared behind a curtain and proceeded to sing as her backlit silhouette became the object of the audience attention. Her two dozen song set displayed her diverse style. Her performance is a combination of song and interpretive dance that grabs your attention and holds it tight.

Opening for Mitski was Australian singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin. Her performance consisted of a short stripped-down solo set of lovely original material. From the moment she stepped on the theater’s massive stage, Julia moved through her setlist in smooth succession, pausing briefly early on to gaze at the crowd while shielding her eyes from the spotlight saying “I wish I see all of you!”

She is an amazingly talented artist and I am certain we will be seeing a lot of her in the near future. She opens for Mitski for the remaining three nights in Chicago.