Last night I saw Antony and the Johnsons for the first time and I was just ecstatic. What a great performance! The band was superb and sounded excellent. It was the first night of the small US tour he is on right now. He is so charming and funny, I didn’t expect that. I presumed he would be quiet and reserved on stage but he was making jokes left and right and encouraged us to yell things at him so he could make a joke of it.
I couldn’t believe how amazing his voice sounded in person. He hit every note perfectly. But apologized for hitting a few “sours” on the piano as he hasn’t toured with piano since 2006. He said we would have to excuse him as he’s developed “lemons on his fingers”. Haha.
His set list was great. He played every song I wanted to hear. He played nearly all of The Crying Light and all other favorites including “Cripple the Starfish” for the encore
Also he did a cover of “Crazy In Love” by Beyonce which was so funny. Highlights included “Shake That Devil”, and “Kiss My Name” had a great crowd reaction.
When he began “You Are My Sister” I knew I was going to shed a tear and tried to make it discrete. Until about halfway through the song I realized, EVERYONE WAS CRYING! HAHHA By the end of the song, the entire theater was sniffling. And it felt appropriate.
Overall it was fantastic. And I am so so so pleased I had the opportunity to finally see him!!