Japanese Breakfast with Ginger Root
The Salt Shed
Chicago, Illinois
May 1st, 2025
For Chicago, Illinois, one night of Japanese Breakfast has never been enough. Aside from a festival appearance at Pitchfork Music Festival in the summer of 2022, the band has had two back-to-back Chicago dates on all of their tours since returning to live music after the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. But this time, as they returned to The Salt Shed for The Melancholy Tour, not even two shows would suffice.
On April 30th, May 1st, and May 2nd, Japanese Breakfast returned to Chicago, armed this time with an arsenal of new songs from their new studio album entitled For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women). The record was announced in early January alongside the release of the first single “Orlando In Love.” Melancholy was released in its entirety on March 21st through Dead Oceans, and received “universal acclaim” status with an 84 out of 100 on Metacritic’s rating scale.
On Thursday May 1st, Night 2 began with opener Ginger Root taking the stage to a sold out room and delivering an awe inspiring opening set. Pioneered and fronted by Californian multi-instrumentalist Cameron Lew, the group showed up with an edgy, playful, and delightfully theatrical performance, highlighting the onstage videographer as one of the key players in the ensemble. Before launching into their final song, Lew got vulnerable with the audience sharing an anecdote where he recalled writing an essay years ago about the monumental impact Japanese Breakfast’s Psychopomp had had on him as a musician, and reflecting on the surreal experience of being on tour with the band today.
By the time the stage was adorned with Japanese Breakfast’s ethereal set design, the room was packed and buzzing with anticipation. When the lights went out and the band walked onstage, singer and guitarist Michelle Zauner sauntered through the dark and sat herself up on the edge of the stage’s centerpiece – A giant clamshell which seemed to pay homage to Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus.” Bathed under a golden spotlight, Zauner began “Here is Someone” played gently on the acoustic guitar as her two bandmates sat in front and on either side of her, settled on the steps up to the clamshell.
Next, Zauner came down from her perch to front and center stage, hanging onto her acoustic guitar to play “Orlando in Love.” Melancholy indeed, tears filled the eyes of multiple fans stood against the barricade, smiling softly through sniffles and singing along. The night trailed on as the band captivated the crowd, most audience members hearing the new songs played live for the first time between tracks from the band’s decade long catalog, saving her most played track “Be Sweet” for the show’s encore.
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