It’s pretty obvious that both Chicago and the Salt Shed adore the sensational indie-pop outfit Japanese Breakfast. I get the impression that the band has a rather devoted cult following in Chicago if you will. The band has played multiple nights in Chicago over the last few album cycles and this three-night residency at the Salt Shed for their latest release, For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women) has been their most ambitious. Fans were in for a treat as the band was performing unique sets on each of the three nights at the Salt Shed. After their massive success with their previous album Jubilee and frontwoman Michelle Zauner’s novel Crying in H Mart; the band embarked on what might be their biggest tour to date! The album still stays true to the classic Japanese Breakfast lexicon while allowing a few magnificent additions to create a whole new sound.
Warming up the crowd and exceeding expectations, the California native indie-soul act Ginger Root (Cameron Lew) effortlessly got the crowd in tune with his stage presence. It went so well that it it was hard to believe for a moment we were at a Japanese Breakfast show and not Ginger Root’s own headlining set. Lew incorporated live video streams on screens placed at the sides of the stage with a cameraman quirkily dancing around the stage and vigorously filming the action on stage. Ginger Root performed with a wild array of unique instruments and sang through his unconventional telephone as his microphone. I’d say it was the perfect pairing of artists for the evening.
After streaming Japanese Breakfast’s Coachella performance a few weeks ago; I was amazed at the majesty and detailed nature of their the new stage production. It really raised my excitement when I realized it had been recreated for the Salt Shed shows. The rest of the crowd's excitement for Michelle and her band was palpable as the room grew dense pretty quickly. At this point, Japanese Breakfast are well established at the pro level of musicianship so naturally they put on a phenomenal show.
The setlist was a good mix of new material as well as some deep cuts from their older work. Opening up their set with a nice run of songs from For Melancholy Brunettes; it set the tone for a much quieter and serene show than we'd normally expect from Japanese Breakfast. The band then took us down the Soft Sounds From Another Planet memory lane as they performed “Road Head,” “Boyish” and “The Body Is a Blade”; arguably some of the band’s greatest work. Cutting into some of the more rare tracks, the band debuted their single, “Glider” from their 2021 video game soundtrack Sable. I’ve heard this song a handful of times live and it truly is a magical experience getting to hear this live. It was a song I definitely was not expecting to hear them perform at this point in time, if ever! It was a very pleasant surprise!
During their Coachella weekend one set, Japanese Breakfast covered “On Melancholy Hill” (how fitting!) by Gorillaz accompanied by Ginger Root who didn’t quite know the words to the song and had to have the aid of his phone to read off the lyrics on stage. For this second night at the Salt Shed; Michelle welcomed Ginger Root on stage for another try of the fabled Gorlliaz cover. Ginger Root passed his redemption performance much to the delight of Zauner and the crowd, who went wild wild with the very faithful cover. Japanese Breakfast concluded their set with an encore consisting of some of their most powerful songs from Jubilee and to my amusement I was thrilled to see the infamous gong’s return from their previous tour which is exclusively used for their song “Paprika.” (My personal favorite!)
It’s bittersweet seeing one of your favorite bands blossom and flourish into the phenomenal entity they are today. Gone are the days of smaller shows at more intimate venues, but seeing Japanese Breakfast's lyrical and musical depth at such a large scale is a very good thing. Michelle channeled all of her emotions and despair into her art, letting them run free both on the new record and on stage. Though the songs are based upon heavy subject matter, one can’t help but feel a rush of bliss and ecstasy when watching Japanese Breakfast perform. They are a testament to the fact that time heals and it truly does get better. I am already anticipating the next time Japanese Breakfast ventures back to Chicago for hopefully yet another multi-night residency!
All photos by Andrew Lagunas