I Just Saw Japanese Breakfast Give An Electrifying Performance At Radio City Music Hall

Ichiko Aoba’s opening performance was also spellbinding

Japanese Breakfast and Ichiko Aoba shined in Radio City Music Hall last week. I’ve been writing about both prolific artists for years now. In 2021, I awarded Aoba with my Live Album of the Year award here. The same year, I gave Japanese Breakfast’s album Jubilee my July Album of the Month crown. Never in a million years did I expect to see them together. When I heard about the show, I knew it would be a moment I would remember for the rest of my life.

The last time I saw Japanese Breakfast, I was in the band’s hometown of Philadelphia. They had a small and lowkey set made in America. Their music was neither small nor lowkey, but the crowd was. I remember laying my arms at the bottom of the stage because that was the most practical place to stand. There was barely anyone there. Zauner and I would make eye contact from time to time and sing some of the words to their hits from Psychopomp and Soft Sounds. I loved the band’s emotional intelligence and ability to break through walls of grief without sounding too sad or depressive. The music was about coming through the other side, alright.

The band’s Radio City Music Hall performance is significant for two reasons. For one, it signaled the end of their glorious two-year-long tour for Jubilee. Second, it was their biggest show in New York.

In this piece, I’ll take you through my dazzling concert experience. :)

A Disaffected Classic Rock Fan

When I first entered Radio City Music Hall, I noticed the long lines. There were loads of people packed around the merch and concession tables like ants around a popsicle that fell on the ground. I was beyond excited and couldn’t wait to find my seat. I paid a lot to get up close and personal with both artists. These musicians were two of my favorites in the last five years, so I had to seize the moment.

Before I got food, I peeked my head into the orchestra section. When I looked in, the sheer size and prestigious ambiance of the venue hit me like a wave. The interior’s gigantic orange arches resembled the most beautiful sunset on the calmest horizon. It was at that moment that I remembered that Radio City Music Hall is the largest indoor theater on the planet.

After gapping at the extraordinary architecture of the orchestra section, I sealed my mouth shut and looked for some food. I hadn’t eaten dinner and was starving. I found a nearby line and patiently waited when the concession lady made an announcement.

“Hey guys! Follow me! This line is closed, but I’ll take you to another one,” she belted.

As we all looked dumbfoundedly at her and then at each other, we rushed on behind her, grabbing the items we wanted from the current concession stand for the next one. I found a Corona and some popcorn and paid for the two snacks. It was seat time.

Although I got my tickets only days before, I wasn’t completely familiar with the location. I knew it was close, but after walking down the orchestra aisle looking for my row, I realized I didn’t know how close. Fortunately, a helpful usher found me looking lost and happily walked me down the aisle to my amazingly close-to-the-stage seats. I couldn’t conceal my excitement when I saw this unassuming man sitting in the chair next to mine.

“Hello, neighbor!” I called out.

“Hey, how’s it going,” he mumbled.

“Very good now, we’re so close!” I pointed enthusiastically at the state.

“I know, right?? Have you seen the band before?” He asked.

“Yeah, one time in ’17 at this Philly festival,” I responded

“Nice, they’re from Philly, right?” I asked.

“Oh yeah, that’s their hometown. Have you seen them before?” I stated.

“No, no, never,” He claimed.

“Well, we’re both in for a treat!” I stated.

We spoke at length about our journeys to the show and our favorite most recent concerts. My neighbor was from Connecticut and complemented Bully’s recent performance in the state. I also asked him how he got into Japanese Breakfast, and he credited Sirius XM radio. At the time, he said, he was disaffected by classic rock and wanted to hear something new. Most of his latest musical discoveries were from Siriusxm. At that point, I was curious about some of his favorites and who he saw way back when. He said when he was younger, on his first trip to America, he saw Bowie and U2 in California in ’87. I mentioned how amazing that must’ve been and how I, unfortunately, never saw Bowie.

“I know I’m a little older than you *we both chuckle* so one day you’ll look back on this show, and it will feel like yesterday, but it will be 35 years ago,” He noted.

“Wow, good point, true,” I said, reminiscing on a show that didn’t even start yet.

“Yeah, wait, I think the opener?” He questioned.

“Yup! That’s Ichiko!!” I tried to whisper.

Windswept By Aoba

Ichiko Aoba slowly walked onto the stage without a sound. We wouldn’t have noticed her if we weren’t already looking towards the curtains. As she sheepishly checked her guitar strings for tunage, we settled into our seats, ready for the night to commence. You could hear a pin drop as she introduced herself to the crowd.

“Konichiwa, my name is Ichiko Aoba.” *roar and applause*.

In the blink of an eye, she started strumming away, creating an ethereal atmosphere with the tips of her fingers. I was immediately windswept by her presence and couldn’t believe what I heard. She sounded even more angelic in person. The second song she played was “Sagu Palm’s Song,” my favorite.

My neighbor told me that he was not familiar with her music beforehand. It was great to see his amazed expression from the corner of my eye as she blessed the stage. During her performance, I could also hear others gasp at her heavenly vocals and chord progressions.

“Her music sounds so beautiful!?” I heard one girl whisper someplace behind me.

Transitioning to the piano, Aoba played more music from her deep and critically acclaimed catalog. She even mentioned during this transition how honored she was to play here and thanked us again for her attendance.

After illuminating the stage with her presence, Aoba gracefully announced her departure and exited the stage. The applause for her then was even more vigorous than her introduction applause. I could feel in the air that we all wanted her to stay, if only for a few more songs.

Japanese Breakfast In All Their Glory

After a short transition, Japanese Breakfast came on stage. The crowd erupted with enormous applause as each member took their position with their instrument. Michelle Zauner herself arrived last and was resplendent in a bright lemon dress. The shiny white gems on her head and neck refracted the stage lights right into our eyes, making her positive aura beam into the crowd masterfully.

Japanese Breakfast are professional, and it shows. This performance was excellent and packed with nonstop energy and Flair. Zauner jumped back and forth on stage early on in her set, touching the hands of fans in the front row and making eye contact with some of us in the near-front. I could have sworn that Zauner and I made eye contact during the second verse of “Road Head.” I was singing along with standout enthusiasm since that’s my favorite Japanese breakfast song, and it felt like she noticed. Of course, this could be my infatuation talking.

Some of the night’s most memorable moments involved band members jamming out for their sets. The guitarist, Peter Bradley, had several solos throughout the show and demonstrated his skills at ripping through an electric guitar. I also enjoyed the saxophonist’s solo and loved seeing Zauner walk up to him before his solo started, preparing the audience to witness something magnificent.

In typical rock fashion, the group walked off a little early. We clapped for a minute, waiting for our beloved rockers to return to the stage and play a few more hits. Unlike other bands, Japanese Breakfast didn’t return at once. Initially, only Zauner showed up. She told us the band had a couple more songs left, not just one or two, as I expected. In a beautiful sequence of events, Zauner started the enchanting “Posing With Cars” by herself. Piece by piece, the band started returning to the stage and introducing their parts of the song, just like on the record. We were hearing the music being made right in front of us.

As much as I loved the first half, I could already tell the show’s second half would be even greater.

I wasn’t wrong.

A 2-Year Run And A Trip To South Korea

The band ran through around five more songs to close out the night. Each tune was packed with intense energy and kept us out of our seats for another 25 minutes. If you were to look around the theater, you would see hips moving, hands clapping, and arms in the air. It looked like a rave.

The ferocious second half of the show ended with a heartfelt message from Zauner. With tears in her eyes, she told us how much this show meant to her. It was the final one on her two-year tour for Jubilee. The career-changing project catapulted the band into the upper rankings of rock music, and this band was seizing the moment. Zauner then laughed and admitted that they had one more show left but that it was a home show in Philly. She said she wasn’t too worried about that finale show since she would be blackout drunk. She concluded her remarks by saying that she was going to move to South Korea with the band to finish their next album and finish writing her next book.

For years, melancholy reflections on grief and loss clouded Japanese Breakfast’s story. When I first heard Psychopomp, I thought the band was Zauner’s mother, who is on the debut album cover. The spirit of Zauner’s mother lives on through the band’s music. For many years, though, Zauner’s mother’s death hung like a dark cloud over the band.

The album Jubilee changed all of that.

With their narrative-changing album, the story of Japanese Breakfast is now a positive one. The album’s denouement wasn’t more grieving. It was celebration, joy, and strength. While Zauner’s mother is forever in the rearview of the band’s image, now her memory brings tears of happiness.

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