The Mitski Effect: Reflections on the Laurel Hell Tour
Photos by Emily Muller
After a long hiatus, cult indie sensation Mitski returned to the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm to perform her Laurel Hell tour – a dazzling show of sadness, euphoria and serenity. Those three words sum up Mitski for me. In 2019, she announced a break from music, fans fearing that this was the end after she announced a gig in New York would be her “last show indefinitely.” Like many, I’ve spent the past three years of isolating and getting back to normality itching for some new Mitski. You can imagine that it felt strange to be standing in a room of three thousand fans again, anticipating a two-hour emotional rollercoaster.
The queue was a journey, or more so a hike – we trekked along Chalk Farm Road for what seemed like hours, but the bustle of Mitski lovers can’t be denied. It was different from the last time she was here. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic (remember that?), TikTok completely blew up, and so did Mitski. Summer 2021 saw “Nobody” swarm the platform, despite the track being released in 2018. I couldn’t keep count of the amount of hilarious videos I saw of people running away to the song. From then on, a whole new generation of listeners discovered the “Your Best American Girl” singer due to the online demographic. With young teenagers singing her notoriously gut-wrenching “Class of 2013” while we waited in line, you couldn’t beat the atmosphere.
Mitski opened with “Love Me More”, one of the newest singles from Laurel Hell, and the Roundhouse came to life. I found myself welling up despite the fact that I’ve never actually cried to this song in my life (it’s too upbeat – I did cry soon after, though). This set the tone for what was to come – the ABBA-esque piano of “Should’ve Been Me”, followed by a deep dive into her 2014 album Bury Me At Makeout Creek. Mitski’s dance moves throughout the set were completely mesmerising. At times she was a ventriloquist’s puppet, at others she was a ghost floating around the stage. During “Working for the Knife”, she mimes the slitting of her own throat, reflecting her struggles with fame and self-identity. It’s an impressive demonstration of storytelling that only Mitski could produce. The sense of detachment that her live performances create is alluringly unique – she is an artist, and you are watching her create art. Totally in her own zone, never disturbed by the world outside. When you step into the Roundhouse, you are in Mitski’s world.
“Your Best American Girl” elicits a roar from the crowd, with fans throwing their hands up into the air screaming “your mother wouldn’t approve of how my mother raised me.” These lyrics resonate, detailing the feeling of being in love with someone of a different background – a feeling that Mitski is all too familiar with. She follows with “I Bet on Losing Dogs,” another fan favourite, and the response is the same. Mitski and her listeners have this mutual understanding of each other that is all too clear at the Roundhouse. She moves, they follow. She speaks, they are quiet. The level of respect is like something I have never seen at a live show before; the absence of chaos is unusual. I think that is what makes this performance so special – there is a relationship that just can’t be broken.
Mitski ends the set with “Two Slow Dancers,” a beautifully nostalgic song about the reunion of two old lovers. Phone flashlights illuminate the crowd and create a blissful atmosphere as you can hear people trying to hold back their tears (at this point I was unsuccessful…) It’s a calming experience to bring the energetic, emotional show to an end. She commands the room as if she is the only person on-stage, all eyes fixated on her. As we sing along, echoing “two slow dancers, last ones out,” the Roundhouse comes to a standstill. And there isn’t a dry eye as far as you can see. That’s the Mitski effect.
The photos featured in this article were taken at Théâtre St-Denis on the Montréal stop of the Laurel Hell Tour, exclusively for PILOT Magazine. Special thanks to evenko.