Sinking into the music and sprawled among the hillside, the concertgoers of San Francisco\u2019s 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.\u200b<\/p>\n
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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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, \u201cSince you haven\u2019t paid any money to be here, you guys are getting the full catalog.\u201d<\/p>\n
Making its entrance while backed by its ethereal track, \u201cPlanetary Ambience,\u201d the airy, atmospheric tones of Japanese Breakfast\u2019s catalog were readily transmitted and prepared to continue flowing for the entirety of the concert.<\/p>\n
Dressed in a white frilled top that flounced as she danced around the stage and banged a large gong, Zauner struck up \u201cPaprika,\u201d the chamber-pop song that serves as the first track on the band\u2019s 2021 acclaimed album Jubilee. Exploring both the beauty and exhausting contradictions of a successful performer in an enviable position, the song\u2019s poetic lyricism served as an exemplary reminder of the band\u2019s synthesis: melancholic themes with euphoric experiences.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s 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 \u201cRoad Head\u201d charmingly flowed into the cinematic soundscape of \u201cBoyish,\u201d with each song being sweetly drenched in Zauner\u2019s rich vocals.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t gone anywhere \u2014 rather, it continues to flourish without hindrance \u2014 she then granted the audience a heartfelt and emotive performance of \u201cMagic Mountain.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s popular hit, \u201cBe Sweet,\u201d echoed amongst the trees as people jumped and sang along with enthusiastic voices to the sweet lyrics of the chorus.<\/p>\n
Continuing on, Japanese Breakfast\u2019s obligatory but highly desired two-song encore officially ended the day with one of its most enduring early classics, \u201cEverybody Wants to Love You.\u201d Screaming out, \u201cThis one is for the gays,\u201d 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sinking into the music and sprawled among the hillside, the concertgoers of San Francisco\u2019s free music festival, Stern…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":385056,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[155403,155406,155401,155404,155405,27542,155407,101,103,102,104,106,105,155402],"class_list":["post-385055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-dj-evie-stokes","tag-indie-pop","tag-japanese-breakfast","tag-leenalchi","tag-michelle-zauner","tag-music-festival","tag-ruan-galloway","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-stern-grove-festival"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}