Japanese Breakfast Serving Melancholy (and Joy) at Palace Theatre
It was a rainy evening in downtown St. Paul, giving the notes of fall in the air. Making my way to Palace Theatre, I was thinking about how I haven’t photographed a concert in about a month, which is insane! The vibes were really on for Japanese Breakfast’s For Melancholy Brunettes tour.
Opening the evening was Ginger Root. Now I will admit I had not heard of Ginger Root before this show, but that’s the best thing about the support is hearing new artist. There’s something delightfully unexpected about a Ginger Root show. The project of multi-instrumentalist Cameron Lew, they blend funk, indie pop, and 70s-inspired soul into a sound Lew cheekily calls “aggressive elevator soul.” Live, that description comes to life with irresistible grooves, slick production, and a touch of quirky theatricality that makes the performance feel larger than life. As in their own words, “We are here to make you dance before you get sad during Japanese Breakfast”.
Going into Japanese Breakfast’s set, I knew that they had a quite the production. Japanese Breakfast, the indie pop project of Michelle Zauner, has always thrived in that rare space between vulnerability and euphoria, and their live show is a testament to that duality. At last night’s concert, Zauner and her band didn’t just perform songs, they crafted an atmosphere that felt equal parts dreamscape and celebration.
Michelle started by sitting on a large clam shell, with a guitar and a singular lamp, kicking off the set with their song “Here Is Someone”. With haunting vocals, and band mate whipping out a recorder, this was exactly how you’d expect a Japanese Breakfast show to begin. Zauner’s presence commanded the stage with effortless charisma. Dressed in her signature mix of elegance and playfulness, she exuded both rock-star energy and approachable warmth. At one point she stated that her dress for the evening did not allow for much movement so to imagine her raising her arms at certain points of a song even though she couldn’t physically.
By the time the encore wrapped with Diving Woman, the crowd was buzzing, not ready to leave the world Japanese Breakfast had built for them. It wasn’t just any concert, it felt like an invitation into their universe, where grief and joy can coexist. Beyond the music, the atmosphere was one of genuine connection. Between songs, Zauner cracked jokes, offered heartfelt thanks, and radiated a kind of joy that felt contagious. It was fantastic to see the growth of a band who opened at this same venue ten years prior, now headlining it.