Japanese Breakfast concert
by Mllayyt on 10/13/25The Joy Theater - New OrleansRating: 5 out of 5Pretty good, loved their set and the opener(spellling) was great! The crows wasnt as hype BUT i enjoyed myself nonetheless

Lineup
Venue
Japanese Breakfast In Concert
Japanese Breakfast was never meant to be a full-time musical project, but Michelle Zauner's fuzzy, dreamy indie pop has captured too many ears and hearts to call it quits. Instead, the Eugene, Oregon-based artist continues to push her solo project into new sonic territory while taking it to stages around the world.
The first thing to know: Zauner is not Japanese. In creating her moniker, she's stated that she wanted to combine something very American (breakfast) with something Americans find exotic (Japanese). She was actually born in Seoul, South Korea, and grew up in Eugene, where she started learning the piano at 5 years old and the guitar at 15.
She then headed to Pennsylvania to study creative writing and film at Bryn Mawr College. It was here that she began turning her musical interests into reality with a solo project called Little Girl, Big Spoon and, in 2011, as frontwoman for the emo band Little Big League.
But already by 2013, Zauner felt creatively uninspired. So, along with friend Rachel Gagliardi, she decided to write, record, and post one song every day for the month of June onto a blog. The result was the 30-track June, featuring 28 originals and two covers (PAWS' "Sore Tummy" and Liz Phair's "Chopsticks").
Around this same time, she put Little Big League on hold and moved back to Oregon to help care for her mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer. In her home state, she found comfort in music, particularly after her mother passed away in 2014. She began writing what would become her lo-fi debut album, Psychopomp. It officially released in April 2016 on Yellow K Records. Soon after, she was signed to indie label Dead Oceans and set out on tour around the U.S., U.K., and Canada.
A little more than a year later, she returned with her sophomore album, Soft Sounds from Another Planet, a more expansive set featuring spacey electronics and crisper indie pop, all topped with Zauner's melancholic beauty. Following the release, she set out for a lengthy world tour, including stops at big festivals like Coachella and Bonnaroo.
Pretty good, loved their set and the opener(spellling) was great! The crows wasnt as hype BUT i enjoyed myself nonetheless
Japanese Breakfast knows exactly who they are exactly what their strong suits are- they’re able to effortlessly blend the fun of pop with their Indie core.
Too many strobbing and blinding lights. Couldn't enjoy the show. Couldn't even see Michelle clearly. Ginger Root was better than the main attraction.
My favorite band performed an amazing concert and show.
Mostly good. Especially want to thank JB for introducing me to the music of Ginger Root. At 67, one of the best warmup bands I have ever witnessed. They are a favorite of my 26 yr old son. Third time we had seen JB perform live. Again the band delivered. Best part though is the shared experience across generations. Music has the power to unite all ages. I liked most of the songs in the playlist. The third song was a bit too melancholy for my tastes and at times sounded like “noise.” That’s a 67 year old grey hair take. My 26 year old some really liked it and gave kudos to JB for taking a risk to play it. I’m glad it came early and was more than made up for by the duet and of course the gong. The lighting was fog like but were used to that living in SF. My 67 y old wife had to put on her sunglasses to deal with the “Pokémon effect” of the strobe lights. The mix was a bit uneven. I wished the violin wouldn’t have gotten buried at times. The lead guitar player was outstanding. All in all a great concert shared with family.
The show was good, but the SF Masonic team had the weirdest security check line. They immediately separated people with bags from people who didn’t have bags, resulting in most people waiting in long lines without their people. I’ve been to over 50 shows this year, and that security line system took the longest and was the most illogical
Im a big fan of Ginger Root (5 stars) and was excited to see them again. I figured I’d check out Japanese Breakfast, who I’ve heard a lot about, and maybe love them too. Sadly, the show was flat for me and after several songs, everything started to sound the same. The set was pretty with a human sized clam shell at one of my favorite venues. Unfortunately, they’re not the band for me. Hope JB’s true fans were happy.
I had a loge box seat and a good view of the stage. The band put out a really good effort in their hometown. However, the sound kept me from a 5 rating. Michelle Zauner’s vocals were hard to decipher on most of the songs. There wasn’t good separation or mix of the instruments. A few songs, you could hear the violin and sax, when they were featured but for many songs, I was unable to hear them. Their last song (of the 3 song “encore” which included “Paprika” , “Be Sweet to Me”) was “Diving Woman”, an epic song and my favorite by them. It is dominated by a great bass rif throughout the song, but it was hard to hear the bass very well. Watch Japanese Breakfast’s performance of this song on YouTube during their appearance at the Austin City Limits Festival a few years back and how crisp the bass line is, and how good all the instruments sound. This may not be totally the fault of the band but also for The Met’s sound as well. This aside, I recommend seeing Japanese Breakfast if you have the chance.
There ain't no song in J Brekkie's repertoire that requires that many strobe lights lol But other than that, it was AMAZING! Ginger Root is very fun live, and Michelle and Peter and the gang brought me to tears like they always do!
I loved it, they are amazing. The open act was great too