Father John Misty - Pure Comedy (April 7, 2017) Album • Page 12

Finally got through this today, I don't like it. I loved 'Honeybear' and I'm generally an FJM fan but I don't think I've ever groaned more during a first listen of a new record from an artist I like. Minimal musical growth here and so many fucking awful lyrics.

 

Totally agree. On Honeybear I relished several of his cuttingly cynical lines (e.g. "She says like, literally, music is the air she breathes"), and I could deal with his arrogance, but on this record I found it a bit much... I'm all for critiquing modern attitudes to idle entertainment, but it just feels like he's 'telling' not 'showing', if that makes sense?

edit: Also not a great fan of highly time-specific references (e.g. 'Occulus Rift...' in Total Entertainment Forever), but that's just a personal preference.

 

This was a great read. Written by Richard Edwards from Margot & The Nuclear So And Sos

Richard Edwards (Margot and the Nuclear So and So's) on Father John Misty’s Persona Suicide Note - Talkhouse

 

Saw him last night and it was amazing, except for the guy that was peeing on other people and caused FJM to stop the set for a minute or two while security dragged him out. He sang some sweet harmonies on a ridiculous Tim Heidecker song, and then killed his own set, which he essentially called his tune-up for Coachella without actually using the word Coachella.

Watch Father John Misty Duet With Tim Heidecker on “I Am a Cuck” | Pitchfork

 

I heard about the peeing guy. I hope he's endlessly embarrassed for the rest of his life. Though, people who would do that in the first place probably wouldn't be.

 

Man, that "not bad for a race of demented monkeys..." little quip in "Total Entertainment Forever" is SO damn catchy. Flipped on the turbo boosters running to that today.

 

This has grown on me in quite an extreme way.

 

Leaving LA feels way shorter than 13 minutes.

 

Oh uh...

I have found that skipping that makes the length a pinch more tolerable for me.

 

I agree. It's one that I skip more often than not at this point since there's not much more to dive into than the fairly straightforward lyrics. The song is essential in that it kind of peels the mask off of the character FJM, but it's not so enjoyable on my drives home from work.

 

This is a good point. I really think he knocked it out of the park with both of the long tracks on this record but Leaving LA is a skipper when I'm listening to this in my car.

 

Magic Mountain is just incredible though man, fuck.

 

this is amazing

 

I guess tonight was the tour opener so here's the set if anyone is curious:

Pure Comedy
Total Entertainment Forever
Things It Would Have Been Helpful to Know Before the Revolution
Ballad of The Dying Man
Birdie
A Bigger Paper Bag
When the God of Love Returns There'll Be Hell to Pay
When You're Smiling and Astride Me
Nothing Good Ever Happens at the Goddamn Thirsty Crow
Funtimes In Babylon
Nancy From Now On
Chateau Lobby #4
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
I Love You Honeybear

Encore:
Half assed q&a which was highly entertaining
Bored in the USA
The Memo
Holy Shit
Great performance overall. The set became a lot more full of life when he started playing non Pure Comedy tracks, which was maybe because crowd reception. He's got like a strings section playing with him, which is really cool. I highly recommend the tour and am envious if anyone that may see it in more of a club setting.

 

That's a pretty fantastic set list honestly.

I've always pictured him closing with Magic Mountain. That outro would kill live.

 

Could have sworn he said he was ditching "Bored In The USA" from live sets, but then again, who knows what's what.

 

No Ideal Husband?

 

Nope. I was kind of shocked. Especially since it's probably my favorite song of his.

 

Looks like he added in So I'm Growing Old and In Twenty Years Or So, which I'm happy about. Also seems to have switched around a couple others from Honeybear and Fear Fun.

 

Saw him last night and it was fucking incredible. Can't believe he's got 15 people on stage with him but it sounds amazing.

 

Seeing him fall 2015 was one of the best sets I've ever seen, he's fucking amazing live. Can't wait to see him in September at a much bigger venue. Side note but I listened to this today and I still love it

 

Feel like I've finally listened to this enough to comment.
Firstly I love Honeybear, it is one of my absolute favourite albums of the decade so far. As for Pure Comedy on the whole it has a lot of great songs but doesn't flow as well. It could probably do with a couple fewer ballads and even one more upbeat track ala Total Entertainment Forever somewhere in the back half.
I agree Birdie is the weakest moment here and if I was to lop a couple more alongside probably choose A Bigger Paper Bag and The Memo.
I really like Smoochie even though it is a thematic outlier.
I have no idea how I'd rank my fav songs. Pure Comedy, Total Entertainment Forever, Ballad of a Dying Man and So I'm Growing Old on Magic Mountain are absolutely fantastic.
Revolution, Leaving LA, God of Love and Twenty Years are probably just as good. Those would be my top 8 for now but there are aspects of the others I dig as well.

 

That has been my favourite track since the first listen. Not sure it will remain but damn, what a song.

 

Please do not miss this show if you have a chance to go. Absolutely amazing performance, and Josh is a genuinely funny presence on stage. I had to leave at the start of In Twenty Years Or So to catch a train (I assume he played that and then Holy Shit), which was a huge bummer, but I still more than feel I got a full show. Not too upset about Holy Shit cus I've seen it before and I'm sure I'll see it again, by I am bummed by Twent Years because I'm not sure how many times in the future he'll play the 6 minute closer to his arguably least accessible album, but who knows. I am seeing him in September and while I don't expect a hugely different setlist, I would think that will probably be one of the first to go.

 

I can't wait to see him again. The honeybear tour was one of the best performances I've ever seen