Stef Martin
I’m a London-based music, portrait and lifestyle photographer, and completely obsessed with colour. Music and visuals go hand in hand for me, so I love creating worlds and characters through my images that help to tell the story of an artist or band.
Father John Misty at his very best: an evening spanning the depths of his discography at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
“Listen honey, this is my show”, teases Josh Tillman, aka Father John Misty, to a playfully heckling member of the audience. It’s not so much a warning but rather a statement of fact; there is no opener, and instead we’re taken on an almost three hour journey exploring the depths of his back catalogue.
There was so much sonically to love about this set. The huge psych-heavy guitar tones from latest single ‘The Payoff‘ hit hard, while ‘Screamland‘ gains a new sense of cohesion and drive with its live arrangement. Elsewhere, the rare gift of ‘So I’m Growing Old On Magic Mountain‘ is a standout, starting with Tillman alone with his guitar with pin-drop silence in the room.
The dynamics across the set are exceptional, thanks to his seven piece multi-instramentalist band. ; was particularly huge, as was the penultimate epic ‘Mahashmashana‘. The spaciousness given to tracks like ‘Pure Comedy‘ and ; left room for the audience to fully relax into his world (one which I certainly didn’t ever want to leave).
What holds it all together is presence. Father John Misty is playful, personal, and loose, telling stories of meeting fans in graveyards in the English countryside, yet always in control, with an effortless command of the room.
The result is a set that feels both intimate, and yet just out of reach. That tension is central to the magic of a Father John Misty show: a sense that the connection is deeply personal, even as it unfolds on a grand scale, shared with hundreds of others in the room.
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