Father John Misty, Har Mar Superstar
Saturday, May 19 at Rock N’ Roll Hotel, Washington DC
Plentiful hip thrusting and sassy stage presence were close to the last things I was expecting to see at a Father John Misty show. I was honestly expecting to watch a bearded faux-mountain man dude play acoustic guitar for an hour, but was instead captivated by a lively performance. Joshua Tillman’s side project played most of the songs off their debut album, Fear Fun, at the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hotel in D.C. earlier this week.
Father John Misty, Har Mar Superstar
Saturday, May 19 at Rock N’ Roll Hotel, Washington DC
Plentiful hip thrusting and sassy stage presence were close to the last things I was expecting to see at a Father John Misty show. I was honestly expecting to watch a bearded faux-mountain man dude play acoustic guitar for an hour, but was instead captivated by a lively performance. Joshua Tillman’s side project played most of the songs off their debut album, Fear Fun, at the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hotel in D.C. earlier this week. Tillman, the former drummer for Fleet Foxes, has released a number of solo works under the name J. Tillman. His Father John Misty album was his first on Sub Pop Records, and has garnered quite a bit of buzz with a music video starring Aubrey Plaza.
I managed to catch the middle and end of opening act Har Mar Superstar’s set, which featured Joshua Tillman on the drums. The Maryland-based band created a sweaty, indie dance spectacle for my eyes and ears. I commented to my friends about the uncanny resemblance their lead singer, Sean Tillmann (unrelated to Joshua Tillman), has to porn legend Ron Jeremy. Tillmann peeled layer after layer of clothing from his body until all that was left were his tighty-whities. His entrance into the crowd had everyone freaking out and spamming Instagram with photos of a heavyset man in his underwear on top of a bar in D.C.
I found the comedic indie-dance that Har Mar Superstar brought to the stage a refreshing and enchanting prelude to the indie-folk sound of Father John Misty. Father John Misty’s sound never strays too far from that of Fleet Foxes. Fear Fun is an album of songs to sing on a mountain or in a cabin: so much pretty indie folk laced with catchy melodies. This, coupled with Tillman’s stage presence, cinched the evening.
The true gem of the show was Tillman’s grand and sweeping voice, to which his intricate and poetic lyrics are the perfect complement. “Only Son of the Ladiesman” was a personal highlight; the lyrics, about a deceased man who used to make the girls go wild, seemed weirdly heartfelt when belted out by Tillman. The pretty sounds of the whistle-able tunes from Fear Fun encompassed the Rock N Roll Hotel and had me entranced. Tillman’s gregarious persona came alight in between songs where he made sardonic political commentary and expressed his fascination with Michelle Obama’s campaign to eliminate childhood obesity.
Things got heavier with “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings,” the stomping single off the album, where most of the crowd sang along. Father John Misty closed out the set with an encore of two cover songs, which I missed out on. Regardless, Father John Misty put on a great showcase of their serene sounds, and demonstrated the reason for the rise of an indie-folk lead singer who has the moves like Jagger.
Words and Live Photos by Sabrina Barekzai
Har Mar Superstar Photo by Angel Ceballos
