Mitski and Tamino charm the Orlando crowd
ORLANDO, January 29th 2024
Last Monday night, fans gathered at the beautiful Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts for the first of two sold-out Mitski shows at the venue. The auditorium was buzzing, full of excited fans awaiting the performers’ arrival to the stage. Opening the show is revered artist Tamino, who played a pared-down set of some of his most popular songs, alone on the stage with just his voice and an array of different guitars.
“It feels so great to be here in a room full of fellow Mitski fans!” Tamino exclaimed to the cheers of the crowd. He played two unreleased songs for the audience, “Bedford” and “Babylon,” and the fans roared along with his soaring voice. He closed his set with his biggest hit, “Habibi,” and the fans waited in anticipation for Mitski’s set to begin.
The singer-songwriter took the stage behind a large cylindrical curtain, showing only her shadow as the light shone through it. As she finished her opening song “Everyone” the curtain dropped, revealing her to the fans, as they all screamed. Mitski’s set was brilliantly and intricately choreographed, as she interpretively danced through each performance, evoking feeling through both song and dance. She pranced her way through hits like “I Bet on Losing Dogs” and “First Love/Late Spring.”
About halfway through the show, lights began to shine down, and Mitski interacted with them, dancing with them as they moved, appearing as if she were holding the beams of light that shone in from the ceiling and moving them herself. Then, large mirrored shards slowly began to descend down upon her as she launched into her newest fan favorite, “My Love Mine All Mine.” The lights bounced around the auditorium, reflecting off of the twirling mirrored shards and illuminated the tears trickling down fans’ cheeks.
After finishing “Fireworks,” Mitski shouted, “Bye!” and ran off-stage with her band, but fans didn’t budge. They eagerly awaited her two most anticipated tracks, “Nobody” and “Washing Machine Heart.” Slowly, the band began to take their places again, and Mitski finally pranced back onto the stage and launched into “Nobody.” Her ability to command the stage with such unique movement is something unlike any artist I have seen before, and her performance was as much a visual treat as it was an auditory one.
Mitski is currently on tour through North America and Europe.
