This is now the third year in a row that indie-pop band Japanese Breakfast graces Chicago with their invigorating live sets, and this past Sunday’s show was more than special. The band made a highly anticipated two-night stop at the glorious Salt Shed this past weekend. They have been touring their third studio album Jubilee since 2021, and they unsurprisingly seem to get better and better every performance of theirs that I get to experience.
A last minute change in openers sent singer and songwriter Frankie Cosmos to freshen up the crowd. Cosmos and Japanese Breakfast have a history together so this made for a perfect pairing for the occasion. Frankie Cosmos took the stage and graced the audience with a chill yet dignified opening set. Their hit song “Fool” had what felt like the entire shed singing along, and rightfully so. I have been a fan of that song in particular for years and hearing it come to life was marvelous. The drums and the pace changes throughout the song along with Cosmo’s vocals echoed beautifully throughout the Salt Shed. The soothing performance left the crowd buzzing and a collective looming cloud of excitement lingered in the air.
Japanese Breakfast took the stage as the intro to “Paprika” commenced and the audience let out a roaring cheer for frontwoman Michelle Zauner and the band. Kicking off the show with this song always amplifies their entrance making it a bit more grand. Zauner commanded the iconic gong for this song on stage and it was both a spine-tingling and breathtaking performance. As the spotlight tends to be entirely on her, Michelle’s wardrobe has to be eccentric and spectacular; so she served in a one of a kind full body netted piece with little persimmon shaped pom poms all over that glimmered perfectly under the vibrant lights. The band started the show off strong, performing their lead hit single off of Jubilee “Be Sweet” afterwards.
They followed up their welcoming introduction to their show with “In Heaven,” which then transitions beautifully into “The Woman That Loves You,” the first two tracks off of their debut album Psychopomp. “This song's about a place we’ve never been to,” announced Michelle just before the mellow drums kicked off their folky tune “Kokomo, IN,” a personal favorite of mine. The entire meat of the show was dreamlike, as I and others got lost in the intricate shoegazey sounds of some of Zauner’s older work, specifically songs off of her second album Soft Sounds From Another Planet. “The Body Is a Blade” is always such a hauntingly charming track to hear live as well as “Road Head.”
Michelle told the crowd that they would be performing two different Chicago-related covers on each night, Sunday having been lucky enough to hear them cover “Jesus, Etc.” by Wilco, which they also performed at last year’s Pitchfork music festival with Jeff Tweedy himself. The last portion of the show was glorious with the band performing more of their ambient tunes before an explosion of confetti went off during “Slide Tackle.” The room was obscured with confetti and as they transitioned into the final song “Everybody Wants To Love You,” it felt like a true Jubilee at the Salt Shed.
This past weekend marked the end of the Jubilee tour coming to Chicago; however we were fortunate enough to have the tour come through a good handful of times; including Pitchfork last year and numerous times at Thalia Hall in 2021. It’s bittersweet to see the Jubilee era coming to a close but it was without a doubt a very memorable and divine era for the band. Japanese Breakfast brought to fruition a whole new sound for them with this album; after two albums full of sorrow and deep emotion it was lovely to see and experience the band and Michelle’s transition from one end to the other. Being my first time at the Shed, I have to say I left very impressed with the venue as a whole. From the friendly staff, the clean amenities, the towering ceiling and the beautiful views, this most definitely won’t be my last time here.