I was lucky enough to catch Mitski at Texas Trust CU Theatre as she embarks on her The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We tour. Her latest album—released almost a year ago to the day as her Grand Prairie performance—became critically acclaimed soon after its release. The album’s hit song “My Love Mine All Mine” has garnered over 1 billion streams on Spotify to date—Mitski’s most streamed track yet. It is a testament to her incredible songwriting and ability to connect with her audience over the course of her lengthy career. Mitski has an innate ability to put on a one-of-a-kind performance that leaves the crowd in awe and always wanting more.
Opening for Mitski on her tour is the electric Arlo Parks, who put on a short yet mighty performance. Parks’s soft vocals combined with her alternative-pop instrumentals and snappy guitar riffs made for an excellent set. After her debut album Collapsed in Sunbeams at just 21 years old, Parks became a star in the indie-pop world, being compared to artists like Phoebe Bridgers and Japanese Breakfast. Parks expressed her gratitude opening up for Mitski, stating that she has been a huge fan since she was a teenager. It was amazing to see such a talented artist have a full-circle moment in their career.
Mitski opened her performance with a tribute to her 2022 album Laurel Hell, starting with its lead single “Working for the Knife,” along with the fan-favorite “Valentine, Texas.” Mitski’s eccentric energy was high as soon as the show started, and she kept it up for the entire show. The only way to describe Mitski’s style of dance is Mitski. It can be sharp and brusque, but at the same time vulnerable and intimate, allowing the audience to see a different side to the music. She danced while she sang every single song, which was extremely impressive to watch. Mitski performed the ballads “The Deal” and “Heaven” from her latest album, moving the crowd to an almost eerie silence. I was struck by how still everyone was in certain moments, perhaps influenced by the theater’s intimate setting, which seemed to encourage a sense of calm and reverence. For Mitski, I believe this helped her become her most vulnerable on stage. She performed many fan favorites from her 2014 album Bury Me at Makeout Creek and her 2016 album Puberty 2, albums that defined her sound and led her to stardom. The emotional “First Love/Late Spring” is a quintessential Mitski track and fans were elated to hear her sing powerful, iconic lines such as, “And I was so young when I behaved twenty-five/Yet now, I find I’ve grown into a tall child.” This lyric resonates with people of all ages, prompting a moment of introspection throughout the four-minute track.
Mitski switched things up during performances of “I Don’t Smoke” and “Happy,” transforming the venue into a lively honky-tonk. Her incredible band added layers of fiddle and pedal steel, giving the songs a vibrant, country-infused energy. As country music fans, Maizie (our station manager) and I were floored by how fun she made these songs, which are our favorite Mitski songs respectively. Mitski added some deep cuts from her 2018 album Be The Cowboy to the set, which was unexpected in the best way. Tracks like “Old Friend” and “Lonesome Love” excited the crowd as we neared the end of her life-changing set. After a brief encore and a few “One more song!” chants, Mitski was back to close out her set with fan favorites “Nobody” and “Washing Machine Heart.” For the first time in the night, everyone was out of their seats, belting the words to the songs that made many people Mitski fans. Like the other 5,000 people there, I felt profoundly changed and did not want the night to end. Mitski’s ability to connect with her audience is nothing short of extraordinary, making her a once-in-a-lifetime artist. Her raw vulnerability and unmatched artistry left a permanent mark on everyone in the room. I feel incredibly grateful to have shared that space with her, witnessing not just a performance, but a deeply transformative experience.
