Japanese Breakfast performed at Chicago’s Salt Shed for three nights last weekend on their tour to share their newest album, “For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women).” But, the show was anything but melancholic.
An indie pop band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Japanese Breakfast is fronted by Michelle Zauner — singer-songwriter, guitarist and author of New York Times bestseller “Crying in H Mart.”
Zauner spent most of the concert skipping and dancing around stage, being unapologetically herself and wearing an eccentric outfit that was completely her own.
Donning a white sailor-looking hat, white shorts leading into a corset, a white button down with a black jacket and black patterned tights ending above her knees, Zauner looked like her own version of a sea captain.
Zauner was joined by her band members, Peter Bradley on guitar, Deven Craige on bass and Craig Hendrix on the drums, who also dressed in almost haunted-sailor attire, wearing puffy button down shirts and tuxes with lots of ruffles. Despite this unique attire, they appeared angelic.
The tour was sea-themed with the stage featuring wave-like set pieces and a giant clam shell which Zauner would sit on, often to perform sadder songs, such as “Little Girl.” Zauner began the track by asking the audience if they were ready to go to “sad town,” which was met by cheers.
Japanese Breakfast’s concert brought in a diverse group of fans, ranging from the typical 20-year-olds standing in general admission to middle-aged people in the stadium-style seats. The audience was of all demographics, and a sign language interpreter performed the songs at the side of the stage.
The show’s opener, Ginger Root, fronted by Cameron Lew, frequently spoke in Japanese between songs. Projector screens to either side of the stage played short films or skits, with language and subtitles changing between English and Japanese.
Lew returned to stage to join Japanese Breakfast in covering “On Melancholy Hill” by Gorillaz, a song that Zauner said she needed “redemption” for after having performed the song at Coachella and messing up the lyrics. Lew brought on a giant prop phone, with Zauner joking that they made it for him after he spent the band’s Coachella 2025 performance reading the lyrics off of his actual phone.
On their tour, Japanese Breakfast began their show with Zauner holding up a lantern and pretending to light it with a match. The lantern changed colors with the rest of the stage’s lighting throughout the night. The show then ended with her blowing it out and exiting the stage. Both these beginning and ending scenes felt beautifully cinematic.
After the band exited the stage, the stage crew brought out a large gong with colored lights surrounding it. Fans from the audience turned to each other and said, “You know what that means,” signaling not only the obligatory encore, but also their song “Paprika.”
The encore featured Zauner hitting the gong throughout the song and one of their most upbeat songs, “Be Sweet,” which was prominent on TikTok.
While Japanese Breakfast performed slow and melancholic songs, the show never felt that way with Zauner smiling, dancing and showing her authentic self throughout the show.
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AloJapan.com