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Father John Misty at Canalside (07/26/18)

Three years after his last appearance at the Town Ballroom, Father John Misty made his triumphant return to Buffalo. Since his last appearance in 2015, Mr. Tillman and crew have released two critically acclaimed full length records, 2017’s Pure Comedy, and 2018’s God’s Favorite Customer.  The sizeable crowd in attendance was treated to a handful of tracks from both of those records, as well as a bunch off of his first two full lengths under his Father John Misty moniker. Supported by his tight backing band, Tillman went all in with his infamous showmanship, seemingly to frantically preach to the crowd at points, begging and pleading. Highlights included a stunning performance of “Bored in the USA,” closing out the main set with an insanely grandiose rendition “I Love You, Honeybear,” and kicking off the encore with “Real Love Baby”, equal parts sweet and soaring.  Over the course over his 20[...]

Tonight: Father John Misty

The Earth, stars, and various festival touring schedules have aligned to bring us one of the most fascinating Thursday at Canalside shows in a few years when zeitgeist channeling troubadour Father John Misty returns to our area at last tonight. It’s been a few years since he last brought the Town Ballroom house down and even more since his now quasi-legendary performance opening for Youth Lagoon back in magical 2012, so tonight’s show has more than a little anticipation going on as the ever entertaining and incisive Mr. Tillman brings his festival set in support of his latest effort God’s Favorite Customer to our suds and summer concert series. Be sure to get to Canalside in time for the opener, Richmond, VA by way of Nashville indie heroine Lucy Dacus, whose expansive and evocative sophomore album Historian is currently burning it up on Matador Records. Nestled sweetly in between the Jenny[...]

Father John Misty – “Pure Comedy”

At this point this almost qualifies as “housekeeping” but yes Father John Misty (aka Josh Tillman) dropped the title track of his forthcoming third album the other day, and “Pure Comedy” more than lives up the hype. For those just tuning in, it appears that liberal democracy/American democracy/the West/western civilization is collapsing all around us in real time, and Josh isn’t immune to that growing sense of dread, hence this devastatingly trenchant piece of art from his Father John Misty alter ego, even though that constructed duality too seems to be collapsing. The video, directed by Matthew Daniel Siskin  is already in the running for “video of the year” (in my dreams) thanks to it’s almost ecstatic depressiveness and up to the minute black humor, and the fact that it sums up the existential quagmire of 2017 perfectly.  Pure Comedy arrives April 7, and hopefully a tour will be announced, including hopefully a[...]

Father John Misty – “Holy Hell”

Funny story: went for my long overdue physical the other day (it’s been a few years, and the one I had scheduled in March got postponed after my heart attack… d’oh!) and the nurse had a few recently added extra questions at the end. “These last 2 weeks… have you felt depressed or unable to feel joy or enjoyment? Anxious and unable to sleep? We’re asking everybody.” I had to bust out laughing and respond “well… those are some loaded questions…”* Clearly the last two weeks have been a little rough, and unlike anything I can remember (fact: I’m in my early 40’s and I ain’t ever seen fecal matter like this before), probably because two weeks ago the course of this country was set for DANGEROUS WATERS, and folks are trying to cope with the new now however they can. Some folks are probably still on the couch staring into[...]

Staff Picks

To cap off our Best of 2015 coverage, we asked a handful of our staff writers to submit their favorite albums and songs of the year. Make sure to follow all of the blog’s year in review coverage throughout the month of December Cliff Parks Favorite Album Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear I don’t want to go with this album, it was my Album of the Year So Far earlier this summer and I loved the latest from Tame Impala, CHVRCHES, and Neon Indian, but with America currently cracking up, Father John Misty’s sophomore album is album of 2015 now more than ever. Between the ascent of candidate Trump and our nation’s mounting multiple existential crises, Josh Tilman’s ode to love, manhood, and getting hitched to that special someone so you can ride out the American apocalypse together seems right on time, all the time lately. It[...]

Father John Misty at Town Ballroom (8/1/15)

Triumphantly returning to the Town Ballroom stage three years after a now legendary opening performance for Youth Lagoon, Father John Misty delivered a scorching, hot as molten lava headlining set that melted the minds and libidos of the assembled sold out crowd. The show, part of an international tour supporting his 2015 masterpiece I Love You, Honeybear and sandwiched between Lollapalooza and shows in NYC, was an unexpected late addition to an already fine summer of shows, and now stands as one of the finest of the year, and a near religious experience. The opening set from the enigmatic Springtime Carnivore was ideal, and got everything started right with a satisfying mix of Cardigans-esque 60’s pop and Southern moxy. Playing a selection of tunes from her eponymous debut, Springtime Carnivore (aka Greta Morgan) wowed the attentive crowd with expressive, breathless vocals and hazy, jangly guitar riffs that conjured bittersweet sensations[...]

Tonight: Father John Misty

In recent years, Buffalo experiences an uptick in shows around festival season due to our relative geographical proximity to Toronto’s North by Northeast and Chicago’s Lollapalooza. This is good news for us because it brings acts like Real Estate and now Father John Misty to soundtrack some of these balmy nights. And really, there is no one more fitting for the sultry height of summer than Father John Misty. This show is sold out so there is little to do to get you to go to the show if you don’t already have a ticket, so I am going to offer a warning. If any of you notice a distant look in your loved one’s eyes tonight, if suddenly they don’t seem to notice you even exist, I really wouldn’t take it personally. These people are under a powerful spell, the powerful spell of Father John Misty, a strange and[...]

Just Announced: Father John Misty

I guess these show announcements are coming in threes today. First Modest Mouse, then My Morning Jacket, and now, we have Father John Misty, set to return to the Town Ballroom, this time in a headlining role, on Saturday, August 1st. Since leaving Fleet Foxes and his J. Tillman moniker behind, Josh Tillman’s newest project has grown into a cult like status, no thanks to his engaging and rather tongue-in-cheek stage performances. His latest album, I Love You Honeybear, has been blog approved across the board, he delivered a viral performance on Letterman earlier this year that may only rival Future Islands’ star making performance from 2014, and is set for a big 2015 with this tour. His last visit to Buffalo was in support of Youth Lagoon and Tillman proceeded to steal the show, so don’t sleep on him this time around. Tickets go on sale this Friday, March[...]

Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear

Almost 2 years ago, Josh Tillman, better known as Father John Misty, released his first full length album, Fear Fun.  After countless recommendations from friends along with finding out that Tillman was the former drummer Fleet Foxes, I was pretty eager to give it a listen. It was a really solid album, and a lot of my friends loved it, but I wasn’t really sold on it. The psychedelic folk sound he brought to the table was interesting, but it was a bit too poppy and bouncy for me at times. The strong point of that record was definitely the songwriting and storytelling, but the presentation was really a turn off at points. Coming into this new record, I Love You, Honeybear,  I honestly wasn’t that excited about it. The sound of his last record had been done by bands before and after Fear Fun’s release, and I thought it[...]

Father John Misty’s “Bored in the U.S.A.”

Earlier this week, former Fleet Foxes drummer (and former Batavia, New York resident) Josh Tillman, continuing to work under his most recent nom de plume, Father John Misty, released the first single from his upcoming album, I Love You, Honeybear. The song is called “Bored in the U.S.A.” and Tillman first performed it on Letterman – perhaps not un-coincidentally, the night before Election Day – so that it flooded Facebook feeds and music journalism sites like this one on the very morning that many Americans might have been thinking about the state of their country and their place (or lack of place) within it. It was probably a calculated move on Tillman’s part but that does leave the question of what exactly he might have been trying to say by way of that calculation. For that, it might be helpful to take a look at the song that was almost[...]

Father John Misty – “Bored in the USA”

Ever since John Tillman stole the show while opening for Youth Lagoon a couple years ago at the Town Ballroom, I have been pining for some new music, and a proper follow up to 2012’s Fear Fun, from the former drummer of Fleet Foxes. Last night, Tillman’s alter ego of Father John Misty took over the Late Show with David Letterman stage with a massive string section to play the ballad, “Bored in the USA,” a cut from his forthcoming new album, I Love You, Honeybear. Tillman once again proves he is one of indie-rock’s best showman, frequently making himself comfortable on his piano as he casually laments on the dejected states of many of today’s post-grads and millennials, something the crowd seemed to eat up by the sounds of the laughter and applause. I Love You, Honeybear is set to drop on Tuesday, February 12th. FJM also announced some tour dates to[...]