Phases & Stages

We first met Father John Misty as Maryland native Josh Tillman, drummer for Philly post-rock act Saxon Shore at the turn of the millennium. After moving to Seattle and becoming a prolific singer-songwriter, he joined Fleet Foxes in 2008 after a slew of solo releases, three of which appeared on local imprint Western Vinyl after he joined the Pac-NW folkies. In 2012, he did an about-face on Fear Fun, his first LP as FJM, adopting a Jim Morrison-like confrontational poet persona. I Love You, Honeybear now drops his marquee statement – for better or worse. "It's hard to believe the good-hearted woman could have a body that'd make your daddy cry," he spits at a drunk hitting on his wife on "Nothing Good Ever Happens at the Goddamn Thirsty Crow." It's one of the many uncomfortable sentiments expressed, fitting neatly next to "Bored in the USA": "They gave me a useless education, and a subprime loan on a craftsman home." That's Misty in a line, magenta-pink classic rock tinged with brutal truths. You're inclined to not like the too-self-aware man of I Love You, Honeybear, rejecting his moodiness because you can't stand another white man taking himself so fucking seriously. Then again, making fun of him is just falling into his trap. (Except for VIP tickets, FJM's show at Stubb's Friday, April 24, is sold out.)