UBER ONE PRESENTS... ALL POINTS EAST 2024 - MITSKI // VICTORIA PARK, LONDON
MITSKI CLOSES FIRST WEEKEND AT UBER ONE PRESENTS…
ALL POINTS EAST 2024 AT LONDON’S VICTORIA PARK
★★★★☆ (4/5)
MITSKI AT UBER ONE PRESENTS... ALL POINTS EAST 2024
PHOTOCREDIT: BETH ANMILLER
The closing day of the first weekend of London’s All Points East festival spans genres with a predominantly female-led lineup. Headlined by cult indie icon turned viral sensation ‘Mitski’, the rest of the Sunday boasts indie heavyweights such as Beabadoobee, Arlo Parks, Ethel Cain, Men I Trust and Suki Waterhouse. The Sunday bill attracts a different audience compared the other days of the festival. Undeniably dominated by younger woman, the day has a more laid-back atmosphere. It’s less loud, lairy and untamed than you would normally expect from a mixed crowd and there’s a sense that the audience are enjoying the safe space.
London’s Mercury-Prize winner Arlo Parks plays the North Arena with a 3-piece band, spanning genres such as pop, rock, folk and soul with cuts from her two albums ‘Collapsed in Sunbeams’ and ‘My Soft Machine’. She states her love for Radiohead’s ‘In Rainbows’ which is evident as she blends ambience with pop melodies. It’s a tight set which presents hopes of sitting at the top of a main stage one day.
Playing directly before Mitski on the East Stage and fresh from releasing UK number one album, Beabadoobee brought confidence and swagger to the East Stage, feeding the audience’s hunger for 00s nostalgia for pop meets guitars. Hits such as ‘Death Bed (coffee for your head)’ and ‘Glue Song’ had the crowd singing wildly. It expends a lot of the their energy before what they know is going to be a more laid back performance from the headliner.
Taking to the stage once the sun had set, Mitski shows from the outset that she intends for her set to be understated – and tastefully so. Backed by a 7-piece band, the musicians are largely relegated to a pit at the back of the stage, allowing the Japanese-American singer to enjoy the opportunity of having the whole stage to herself. She utilises this effectively as a physical performer. The stage design is minimal – predominantly being just two chairs and spotlight. However, the way Mitski moves around the stage in an almost comedic fashion evokes some sort of French mime. Air banjo, dog impressions and intentionally rote dance moves provide an entertaining performance to accompany the laid back sonics.
The 24-song set boasts a wide spread of Mitski’s twelve-year discography whilst resting heavily on her latest release “The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We”, the album which has catapulted her to the top of festival line-ups. Beginning with upbeat cuts “Everyone” and “Buffalo Replaced”, the set progressed to feature old and new hits which were regarded in equal prominence by the mostly young audience. “I Bet On Losing Dogs” and “First Love/Late Spring” peaked audiences interest before Mitski got the now mega-hit “My Love Mine All Mine” surprisingly early in the set (a small exodus unfortunately occurred after this point to get the Sunday-night train) accompanied on stage by steel spiral monument. Mitski breaks character just once in the set about four songs in to speak to the audience and teach them how to stretch themselves after a long day of standing on their feet. The young audience eagerly needs her to know that the security guard is wearing “Brat green” which provides some levity in the mostly downbeat set. Closing with the energetic ‘Nobody’ and ‘Washing Machine Heart’, the set is an overall success. There is some intimacy lost seeing such a personal performer on a large stage, but there is more than enough to hold attention. It’s excellent Sunday-night fare.