To be specific, I went to her show in Grand Prairie on 9/13/24 with my best friend Daniel promptly after getting some flash sale tattoos with him. This is going to be a diary of sorts for me, but also for everyone else who wants to read it.

Now, as for how I want to go about writing this, I will separate it into three different sections. One is accessibility: as someone who deals with chronic joint issues, accessibility is something that is super important to me and I would like to touch on how I felt during the show. The second section will be about the crowd and the general vibe I had gotten throughout the show. With the issue of concert etiquette being very much at the forefront of many concertgoers' minds, this is something that I really focus on in every show. The last section will be about the concert itself: the lights, visuals, her performance, and the things I loved about it, as well as a brief summary of every song. With the layout described, let's get into it! 

Accessibility-wise, the show was amazing. Daniel and I had driven three hours from College Station to Grand Prairie, so our joints were already hurting by the time we had made it to our seats. The fact that we left feeling better than when we got there was honestly beautiful. Where most of the time I would tend to worry about my friend and I and how we would manage our pain levels, the venue, staff, and crowd were very considerate, and at no point were we expected to exhaust ourselves during the show! While curt and to the point, the staff was very helpful in telling us the best ways to get around the venue through elevators and how to get to our seats without taking the stairs. The venue itself was very accommodating, with ramps and elevators easily accessible without having to cut through crazy amounts of people. During the concert, while very high energy, exciting, and awe-inspiring, there was never any strain on my body. My friend and I were able to sit the entire time and enjoy the show without any need to get out of our seats to see. This was in huge part due to the crowd around us and the fact that they were very considerate and sat the entire time as well. This brings me to my next section. 

When it comes to live performances, concert etiquette has been something touched on a lot in recent years due to the popularization of TikTok and the increase in parasocial behaviors with celebrities. It seems as though every day there is a new video about an artist getting harassed on stage by having things thrown at them or having obscene things yelled at them all while just trying to perform. I am happy to report that during the show I was at, everyone exhibited a lot of respect not only for each other but also for Mitski as an artist. Any time she was performing the crowd sang but wasn’t overtly loud or screaming. The crowd only yelled out when she wasn’t performing or if prompted by her which was amazing and made it so that it was not overwhelming. The audience also showed their respect for the people around them by keeping their phones close to themselves so they weren’t obstructing any views of the people around

them. The crowd was also filled with a variety of different people! I saw so many different flags indicating different sexualities and genders, along with so many different types of clothing styles. There were people dressed to the nines in anything from gorgeous flowing skirts and Renaissance-esque blouses to battle vests and ripped jeans. Everyone looked so interesting, it felt like a really safe environment and a lovely experience overall. 

The concert itself was beautiful, and I’m now going to take some time to go over the experience! The set design was gorgeous, and Mitski’s use of the stage and her presence were captivating the entire time. Throughout the show she used a Japanese style of dancing called Butoh, which incorporates dramatic movements, making it more like a type of performance art than a dance. She also used the lights on the stage to create a dramatic aura for some of her songs, conveying her emotion through not only her dance but the stage itself. She also had a live band performing with her, which added to the effect. All the different instruments were balanced beautifully, making it easy to look at each of the musicians and hear what they were playing and how it added to the depth of the performance as a whole. They also contributed to the show as well with their own types of performances, dancing and making faces at each other to add to the fact that the entire show was an experience, not just a concert. 

These aspects, between the lights, Mitski’s dancing, and the music created a unique performance unlike any I had seen before. Each song had a story, with Mitski as the main character performing all of the roles and allowing the audience to get a glimpse into how she felt as she was singing the songs she had been writing since her early twenties. I’ve been to many concerts in my life, spanning genres from metal to folk, but I have never felt as connected to a performance as I did during this show. No matter what she was singing, how long it had gone, or what the musicians were playing to each other and to the audience, I was captivated. The only thought I had during the performance was “This is gorgeous!” If given the chance, I would tell everyone to see Mitski at least once. She puts so much love, thought, and creativity into her shows and everyone should have at least one chance to see it.