Father John Misty & Destroyer were in crowd-pleasing form at Kings Theatre & Beacon Theatre (pics, setlist, review)
February 27, 2025 | by ltcinsuranceshopper
“This is my first time playing Beacon Theatre,” Josh Tillman told the crowd on Wednesday night, adding that as a tribute he’d like to do a cover of an artist who had famously played there. Who would it be? Dylan? the Stones? Tom Petty? Steely Dan? So many have played the iconic New York venue. “Here’s five minutes from Jerry Seinfeld’s set from his Beacon run last year.” That’s a very Father John Misty joke, and one of the few times Tillman spoke to the Beacon Theatre crowd, instead letting his songs and his ace band do the talking.
Beacon Theatre was the second of two NYC stops on FJM’s tour with Destroyer (they played Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre the night before) and the crowd was glued to every second. The seated venue can be stuffy, but after easing in with “Fun Times in Babylon,” the crowd were on their feet for the Nashville boogie of “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All” and stayed up for the rest of the show. He played the entirety of last year’s great Mahashmashana, but the night felt like a greatest hits set, with gems from throughout his discography. Even though stage banter was at a minimum apart from the occasional nonsequiteur (“I see some psyched 20-year-old alcoholics out there”), Tillman is a master showman, working the stage, throwing shapes, and dancing, much to the delight of the crowd.
His main set ended with Mahashmashana‘s cinematic title track, which sounded amazing at Beacon, and then he came back for a four song encore that felt like a second set, with “I’m Writing a Novel,” “Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins),” and “So I’m Growing Old on Magic Mountain,” before bringing the house down with “I Love You, Honeybear.”
Destroyer makes this tour a fantastic double bill and Dan Bejar was backed by a drummer (who also played synths/samples) and a guitarist, with songs reworked, sometimes radically, to fit the form. Bejar didn’t play anything from his upcoming album Dan’s Boogie, but Beacon Theatre got “Painter in Your Pocket,” “Tinseltown Swimming in Blood,” “Chinatown,” “Times Square,” “It’s Gonna Take an Airplane,” and more. Dan was in good spirits, idiosyncratic stage presence as usual, and it was a treat to hear these songs in new arrangements. I hope we get the Destroyer big band when he does a headline tour for the new album, though.
Father John Misty and Destroyer’s setlists at Kings Theatre were just a little different from Beacon. You can check out photos from Kings Theatre by Emilio Herce, setlists for both shows, and full video of FJM’s Kings set, below.
SETLIST: Father John Misty at Beacon Theatre 2/26/2025
Funtimes in Babylon
I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All
Josh Tillman and the Accidental Dose
Q4
Being You
Mr. Tillman
Nancy From Now On
Goodbye Mr. Blue
God’s Favorite Customer
Nothing Good Ever Happens at the Goddamn Thirsty Crow
She Cleans Up
Screamland
Summer’s Gone
Mental Health
Mahashmashana
Encore:
I’m Writing a Novel
Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)
So I’m Growing Old on Magic Mountain
I Love You, Honeybear
SETLIST: Destroyer at Beacon Theatre 2/26/2025
The Music Lovers
Tinseltown Swimming in Blood
It’s Gonna Take an Airplane
It Just Doesn’t Happen
Times Square
Painter in Your Pocket
Cue Synthesizer
Chinatown
Stay Lost
Poor in Love
SETLIST: Father John Misty at Kings Theatre 2/25/2025
Funtimes in Babylon
I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All
Josh Tillman and the Accidental Dose
Q4
Being You
Mr. Tillman
Buddy’s Rendezvous
Nancy From Now On
The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apt.
God’s Favorite Customer
Nothing Good Ever Happens at the Goddamn Thirsty Crow
She Cleans Up
Screamland
Summer’s Gone
Mental Health
Mahashmashana
Encore:
I Went to the Store One Day
(Solo acoustic)
Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)
Holy Shit
I Love You, Honeybear
SETLIST: Destroyer at Kings Theatre 2/25/2025
The Music Lovers
Tinseltown Swimming in Blood
It’s Gonna Take an Airplane
It Just Doesn’t Happen
Times Square
Painter in Your Pocket
Cue Synthesizer
Chinatown
Stay Lost
Poor in Love
Notorious Lightning
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