It was a young crowd that filled The Pageant Friday, filing in to catch Los Angeles-based garage punks The Linda Lindas and alt-pop band Japanese Breakfast as their tour rolls through the Midwest.
Elated to be opening for Japanese Breakfast, The Linda Lindas kicked off the night with 45 minutes of their powerful, high-energy, all-girl punk. Formed in 2018, The Linda Lindas haven’t been performing long, but they have been performing for a good chunk of their lives. The band of tweens and teens includes Mila (drummer, now 11—soon to be 12), Lucia (guitar, 14), Eloise (bass, 13), and Bela (guitar, 17). Each member takes turns with vocals. Songs included “Growing Up,” “Never Say Never,” The Blue Hearts cover “Linda Linda” (from which they took their name), The Go-Go’s cover “Tonite,” and “Racist, Sexist Boy.”
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When it came time for the headliner to take the stage, Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner arrived amid a misty orange hue, opening her hour-plus set with the dreamy, pop-infused “Paprika” from her 2021 album, Jubilee. St. Louis was a late addition to the months-long tour in support of the album, which extends well into the fall, but fans packed The Pageant Friday for their chance to see the 2022 Grammy-nominated band live. Not only did Zauner mesmerize the crowd with haunting songs about joy and pain with her soft, breathy vocals, she delighted in banging on a large gong adorned with lights and flowers.
Horns, keys, strings, bass, and guitar added depth and layers to the intricately woven pieces that Japanese Breakfast has been known for since its inception in 2013. About half the set was dedicated to tracks from the new album, including “Be Sweet,” “Tactics,” “Posing for Cars,” and “Kokomo, IN,” which she prefaced by saying she’d never been there. The night ended with a bang as the band broke out the edgier, noisier “Driving Women” from Soft Sounds From Another Planet.
Find more photos from the night at https://bit.ly/JBrekkie22cz.
For the full set lists for The Linda Lindas and Japanese Breakfast, visit setlist.fm.
