Father John Misty, Guy Blakeslee at The Danforth Music Hall

Photographs by Sarah Rix.

I forgot how entertaining and how much I enjoy Father John Misty as a performer, but quickly remembered when he took the stage at a very packed Danforth Music Hall on Wednesday Feb 18 night. Opening the show was Guy Blakeslee, who released his first solo album in 10 years last June.

With his second album, I Love You, Honeybear freshly released, Josh Tillman and his band hit the stage a couple of minutes early and went right for the jugular with the epic title track.

In front of a very enthusiastic crowd, Tillman played like he was headlining a stadium.  Defiant raised mic stands and earnest fall-to-his-knees belters, Tillman worked the entire stage top to bottom, front to back.  While he might have referred to himself as a self-depreciating Barry Manilow, I was thinking he was more like Neil Diamond.

With such a recent release date, I Love You, Honeybear hasn’t had the time to really sink into my brain but initial thoughts are that it’s voyeuristically creepy.  Live, no signs of creepy as the soon to be sweaty venue was packed with happy bodies.

Musically, Tillman and his crew sounded awesome and it was the less traditional folk fare that really had the most impact on myself.  But no matter what your Father John Misty fix was – he delivered, offering up almost all of his two Father John Misty albums, Fear Fun and the new one.

His hilarious banter climaxed over the course of the 90 minute set with his self-depreciating take on encores.  But he also offered up a slice of classic Canadiana with a run through Leonard Cohen’s “I’m Your Man”.  With everything that preceded this selection, it was actually a very fitting ending to the evening.

Thanks to Collective Concerts to media access.