Lonesome Love: Mitski creates a wholesome vibe at Frost Amphitheatre

By Opinion & A&E Editors Padma Balaji & Goonja Basu

Beautiful interpretive dances, melodic music, and an impressively respectful crowd — singer-songwriter Mitski brought all of this and more to Frost Amphitheatre in Stanford University on September 25. A special experience, this was her fourth and final night playing the Bay Area and second to last on her The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We Tour.

As listeners of all ages filtered in — high schoolers, grandparents, young children — opener Wyatt Flores began with a melodious country set and fluorescent purple lighting, often referencing his home state of Oklahoma with fondness. The audience enthusiastically waved their arms around and swayed to the music of Flores’ gentle country melodies. The crowd finished flowing into the venue as he winded down with a cover of The Fray’s “How to Save a Life” and ironically closed with his own song, “Welcome to the Plains.”

After another half hour of anticipatory waiting, the lights dimmed as the spotlight shone on a platformed circle in the middle of the stage, a curtain covering it all the way around. Mitski’s silhouette finally appeared on stage as a shadow and played the first couple of songs, beginning with the melancholic track “Everyone.” The crowd went wild when the curtain finally dropped for “Working for the Knife.”

Every song, from the woeful “I Bet on Losing Dogs” to the jaunty “Happy,” was accompanied by a dynamic light show, perfectly supplementing Mitski’s own interpretive dances. Mitski used the stage as her space creatively, dancing with the spotlight as her partner on “Heaven,” and bringing down crystal shards during “My Love Mine All Mine.” Although her dances were slightly unorthodox, such as crawling on all fours during “I Bet on Losing Dogs,” they never failed to enamor the crowd and only enhanced the richness and depth of her music.

While the crowd was more animated on more popular songs, like “I Bet on Losing Dogs” and “First Love / Late Spring,” true Mitski fans continuously sang their heart out song after song, not stopping to take a breath as Mitski didn’t either. There was a tangible feel to the crowd’s focus on the artist, respecting her requests for no flashlights, and appreciating the nature of the venue lined with trees. 

Mitski’s eclectic, witty personality especially shone through during her musical breaks, when she talked to the audience. At one point, she noted the strong smell of marijuana in the arena and jokingly decided to play a game to make the smoker paranoid. “It’s so obvious that you are high. You are embarrassing yourself. You’re too high,” Mitski said, cleverly leading into her song “I Don’t Smoke.” 

The magical night ended with an encore of “Nobody” and “Washing Machine Heart,” as the crowd bounced to their feet and eagerly jumped up and down to her most popular songs. The crowd was breathless and still felt the excited energy of the night as they exited the venue, often clustering in groups in an attempt to extend the night, like they never wanted it to end.