Japanese Breakfast and Ginger Root Show They Can Do It All at Chicago's Salt Shed

Everyone knows that one person that's just good at everything, right? Whether it's someone you knew growing up that went to the special math and science academy once high school hit or someone at your workplace that you just know is going to make more money and have more friends than you. And it's not just that they're good at everything. They have to be a showoff by being really good at everything (not just moderately good). Selfish.

It's the kind of person you'd quietly hate behind their back while being passive aggressive to their face...if they weren't so cool and fun to be around.

I had a friend like this growing up. Always had better taste in music than I did, learned to play guitar a few years before I did (while also playing piano). His dad was an art teacher and his mom was a librarian. He could act and sing. He could draw and paint. He was naturally laid back and effortlessly cool. He got a 1580 on the SAT (back when a perfect score was 1600). He went to Stanford...to be an art teacher. And since he was a year older than me, it always seemed like he was setting an impossibly high bar at every grade that I had to try not to stumble over too hard as I stacked multiple chairs on each other trying to lay a few fingers on it.

And I couldn't have cared less. For years, we were pretty much inseparable, which meant that I was one of the main recipients of his multitude of talents. Especially in our younger years, having someone funny and creative was a huge win living in a town of less than 3,000 people. Even as we grew into high school, he would pull me along with him onstage at talent shows and to parties, etc. With someone that particular brand of all-around talented, the ability to entertain just seems to radiate out of them.

This is where Michelle Zauner comes in. She's another one of those types that would be a rare enough case to be a world-class talent at one thing, but had to go about doubling up on that particular attribute like it's no big deal. Originally forming the emo band Little Big League in 2013, Zauner now fronts Japanese Breakfast, a multi-Grammy nominated indie rock quartet.

And if that wasn't enough, Zauner is also an accomplished writer. And I'm not talking about songwriting (although (SHOCKER) she's fantastic at that too). Her 2021 book, Crying In H Mart: A Memoir, spent 60 weeks on The New York Times hardcover non-fiction bestseller list. And with the heartfelt and emotionally raw lyrics she puts into Japanese Breakfast songs, it's not a surprise that she was able to tell such a touching story about coping with the loss of her mother. It seems like all of her creative pursuits look to make something joyful out of what initially starts off sad.

Zauner and the rest of Japanese Breakfast would have the chance to turn those frowns upside down (sorry) with three sold out shows at Chicago's Salt Shed with Ginger Root in support.

Ginger Root was a perfect opener for a lot of reasons. Karmically, both bands on the bill were connected - singer/songwriter/instrumentalist Cameron Lew told the story about an early SXSW show the band played on the night where he had to rush home afterward and finish writing a paper on...the 2016 Japanese Breakfast album Psychopomp (I will now go write a term paper about inheriting $80 million be right back). But on top of that early connection, Ginger Root were also a band that seemed to excel at everything they did as well. And we knew this because...well, because the band seemed to have every single piece of musical and electrical equipment known to man onstage waiting for them. Seriously, get a look at this setup:

Every single piece of equipment was mashed into a 40 minute set that defied both style and genre. It was like a funky late 80's themed jam weaving every electronic sound known to man in and out of the mix for maximum danceability. A full-on television camera was onstage filming each band member's performance up close and personal, the live feed being projected onto two screens flanking the stage. The screens were also used for pre-recorded interludes and several jokes/gags throughout the show.

The set had a lot of humor, but the music was no joke. Lew and the rest of the band threw down an energetic and groovy set, taking the songs seriously but not themselves. It was one of those infectious sets where you can tell the band is having an absolute blast, so it makes the entire thing that much better for the audience in some kind of closed-loop system of live music mayhem. On an evening where the headliner would definitely be wading into some heavy emotional ground, the lighthearted vibe Ginger Root brought to the evening's opening was the perfect contrast.

(NOTE: Leaving the venue, I actually walked down the sidewalk behind the band. I told them they did a great job and they were all polite and said thank you. At least one of them smelled nice.)

Almost every concert is a reason to be excited. But there are some shows where the anticipation is much higher than others. An incredible band is in town? Amazing. They're coming to town touring on a new album? Even better. And the album is one of the best of the year? Ok, now we've got something going. Just over a month after the release of For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women), the fourth Japanese Breakfast album, the band did what I wish more artists would do, which is have the confidence in the new music to kick off the night with the first three tracks of the new album. Zauner and the rest of the band tore through a 'Here is Someone'/'Orlando in Love'/'Honey Water' opening run that had the sellout Salt Shed crowd rapt in silence until finally being allowed to release with a roar of approval in between songs.

Kicking off the first night of a three night stop in Chicago, Zauner was flanked onstage by a giant clam and some fake waves, with a very 'Enchantment Under the Sea' prom theme feel to it. And fans of the new album were in for a treat, as the band wound up playing every track off the recent release. And so, the themes of the new album (general gloom, heartache, toxic masculinity and incel-culture) were on full display. But as much of a bummer as it sounds like to describe it that way, it was anything but. It takes a special kind of talent to be able to wade through such heavy topics and not turn the entire affair into a weird, sad pile of awkward, let alone somehow turn the whole thing into what felt like a celebration. Even the sadder, slower songs on the evening had a feeling of catharsis. Getting a few thousand people to be sad together with their ringleader being such a charismatic conduit sure can bring a lot of joy. But then again, if anyone could pull it off, who better than someone that's just naturally good at everything?

While the focus of the evening was on the new album, the band ripped through classics off Jubilee and Soft Sounds from Another Planet frequently throughout the set, with a couple of well-received covers to boot (including a song from Zauner's former band Little Big League as well as their own take on Donna Lewis' late 90's hit 'I Love You Always Forever'). And while Zauner is the main attraction, the rest of her band compliments her perfectly on every song, highlighted by drummer Craig Hendrix lending his voice to 'Men in Bars', filling in on the part performed by Jeff Bridges on the studio album.

Is there anything that anyone in this band can't do? Showoffs.

Japanese Breakfast's For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) Tour continues through the end of September. Tickets and dates can be found here.

Japanese Breakfast Setlist - The Salt Shed (Night 1) 4.30.25

Here is Someone
Orlando in Love
Honey Water
Road Head
Boyish
The Body is a Blade
The Woman that Loves You
Slide Tackle
Men in Bars
Mega Circuit
Little Girl
Glider?
Picture Window
I Love You Always Forever
Winter in LA
Kokomo, IN
Magic Mountain
Posing in Bondage
Posing for Cars
Paprika
Be Sweet
Diving Woman