Mitski Lets Her Songs Do the Talking at The Shed in New York City: Photos + Review

"The world of Nothing's About to Happen to Me, Mitski's latest album, is intended to be unkempt. It's a home overgrown with cats, bugs, antiques, and trinkets, and a general hoarder's mess. But walking up to The Shed on Wednesday evening to see the third of Mitski's six New York City shows, the surrounding environment of the Hudson Yards district couldn't have been more different."

"Her previous tours have seen Mitski push her performance style towards more overt theatrical experiences rather than traditional concerts, so it was easy to assume that this new run would mark a complete departure. She's made the residency-style itinerary deliberately, choosing big, lofty spaces to house her similarly gigantic voice."

"But once again, Mitski has subverted expectations. It was a great performance, but it was also a particularly raw and understated way to present her live show - a total contrast to her last three outings."

Mitski's latest album, Nothing's About to Happen to Me, presents a deliberately unkempt world filled with cats, bugs, and clutter. However, her performance venue at The Shed in Hudson Yards represents the opposite aesthetic—sleek, sanitized, and soulless. This choice seems unusual given the album's chaotic vision, yet The Shed's design as a multi-use performance space suited for storytelling aligns with Mitski's recent theatrical direction. Her previous tours emphasized theatrical experiences over traditional concerts, and she has been developing a musical adaptation of The Queen's Gambit. Despite expectations for a highly theatrical presentation, the performance proved surprisingly raw and understated, marking a departure from her previous three theatrical outings.

Read at Consequence