Father John Misty @ Agora (4/29/23)
When I found out that I was going to be photographing Father John Misty, I was ecstatic. I immediately thought of myself, eight years younger, when I first started listening to Father John. That 2015 version of me would've never believed that I would have an opportunity like this.
Father John Misty's music has had a big impact on my life. In 2015 when "I Love You, Honeybear" was released I too was freshly falling in love. The album feels like the embodiment of young love, and I was living it directly with my partner. When I visited California for the first time in 2016 we specifically visited the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, the name of a track from Misty's 2012 album "Fear Fun". That trip, and time period of my life, felt so intwined with Misty's first two albums. Since 2017 Father John Misty has released three additional albums, with the newest being "Chloë and the Next 20th Century" which was released in April of 2022.
On Saturday night Misty entered the stage to dimmed red light, and kept the lights low for the first song "The Next 20th Century". The mysterious atmosphere felt fitting and got the crowd excited for what felt like a grand reveal of the lights getting raised for the next song "Strange Encounter'. The rest of the setlist contained songs from every album, with a slight majority coming from "I Love You, Honeybear". The show was packed, both the downstairs and the balcony of Agora were filled with people singing along, hugging their loved ones, and enjoying the performance.
I truly hope Father John continues to make music and tour, and I would absolutely relish an opportunity to photograph him again.
Photos and words by Shelly Duncan
