Sinking into the music and sprawled among the hillside, the concertgoers of San Francisco’s free music festival, Stern Grove Festival, soaked in the sonic radiance of Japanese Breakfast that poured from the speakers June 28. As its only headlining performance of the year, the band may have lingered on stage at times, but its set traversed its wide indie-pop catalog, with bursting electric guitar and moments of shimmering synth and strings.
As the crowd squeezed picnic blankets and coolers into every remaining pocket of space the eucalyptus grove could supply, DJ Evie Stokes provided a laidback set priming audiences for the rest of the afternoon. Further advancing us toward the day’s headliner, Leenalchi, the Korean pansori-pop opening band, played their first-ever concert in the United States. Blending varying vocal techniques, such as folk operatic vocals and even mimicking birds chirping, the band furnished a theatrical production with an unfailingly overjoyed stage presence that captivated the audience.
As the venue was packed with audience members, Japanese Breakfast was able to stretch out its set. Instead of jamming together years of music, the hour-and-a-half set explored its several albums and included projects from separate musical collaborations. Michelle Zauner, the lead singer of Japanese Breakfast, stated to the eager crowd, “Since you haven’t paid any money to be here, you guys are getting the full catalog.”
Making its entrance while backed by its ethereal track, “Planetary Ambience,” the airy, atmospheric tones of Japanese Breakfast’s catalog were readily transmitted and prepared to continue flowing for the entirety of the concert.
Dressed in a white frilled top that flounced as she danced around the stage and banged a large gong, Zauner struck up “Paprika,” the chamber-pop song that serves as the first track on the band’s 2021 acclaimed album Jubilee. Exploring both the beauty and exhausting contradictions of a successful performer in an enviable position, the song’s poetic lyricism served as an exemplary reminder of the band’s synthesis: melancholic themes with euphoric experiences.
Performing without histrionics, the natural amphitheater of Stern Grove reminded Japanese Breakfast that there was no need for major spectacle. Zauner maneuvered between prancing around the stage and playing the guitar while stationary, highlighting the band’s impressively lush musicality and her soaring vocals rather than relying on theatricality. Sweeping the entirety of its multi-genre reach, the repetitive yet dreamy guitar riffs of “Road Head” charmingly flowed into the cinematic soundscape of “Boyish,” with each song being sweetly drenched in Zauner’s rich vocals.
Although Zauner has always been an impressive performer, her spirited stage presence was even more remarkable given that she danced around with her baby bump on proud display. Revealing her pregnancy earlier in June, Zauner confided with the audience about her fears and anxieties surrounding motherhood and losing her connection to artistic imagination. Proclaiming that such creativity hasn’t gone anywhere — rather, it continues to flourish without hindrance — she then granted the audience a heartfelt and emotive performance of “Magic Mountain.”
Closing the main set with a rare higher-energy moment, Japanese Breakfast stirred the stagnant, mostly seated crowd. Thoroughly sun-soaked and ready to dance, the band’s popular hit, “Be Sweet,” echoed amongst the trees as people jumped and sang along with enthusiastic voices to the sweet lyrics of the chorus.
Continuing on, Japanese Breakfast’s obligatory but highly desired two-song encore officially ended the day with one of its most enduring early classics, “Everybody Wants to Love You.” Screaming out, “This one is for the gays,” Zauner was surrounded by a crowd celebrating Pride weekend in San Francisco, with pockets of rainbows and pride flags to prove it. As clouds of bubbles floated by and lustful lyrics laced the crowd’s many mouths, the band solidified its performance as a celebration of love and life. Despite deep lyrical reflection on facing the reality of grief and joy and how both emotions are constantly intertwined within our collective experiences, Japanese Breakfast, as well as the crowd, left Stern Grove dancing.