A Night at the Church of Father John Misty

“Rock ‘n’ roll is only superficially about guitar chords; it’s really about myth,” wrote Chuck Klosterman in his 2003 book “Killing Yourself to Live.” Most artists today fail to grasp this concept. Father John Misty is not one of those artists.

There’s a certain mythology surrounding Father John Misty. It’s hard to say if the “Father John” name is some sort of alter-ego, or character played by Josh Tillman, who previously released music as J. Tillman and later played drums for Fleet Foxes, but frankly, it’s more fun not knowing. Tillman traces the origin of “Father John Misty” back to a psychedelic experience in a tree in Big Sur. This is (probably) not true, but it doesn’t matter. The myth is what matters, because it set Tillman free.

Onstage at the sold-out Pabst Theater in Downtown Milwaukee, touring in support of his new album, I Love You, Honeybear, Father John Misty swung around his mic stand, climbed atop the bass drum, strutted around stage with both purpose and reckless abandon, leaned out to shake hands with fans in the first few rows, and lied on his back in the middle of the stage, bellowing to the rafters.

And that was just during the opening song.

To say Tillman is a showman is quite the understatement. He tossed his acoustic guitar across the stage to a stagehand through “Nothing Good Ever Happens At The Goddamn Thirsty Crow.” He did a self-described “crucified Gumby dance” standing atop the bass drum at the beginning of “True Affection.” He laid down on his stomach and crooned directly into a front-row smartphone during “Bored In The U.S.A.” His between-song stage banter was charismatic, sarcastic, and genuinely funny, evolving throughout the evening into a comedic performance all its own — but one in which you’re not sure when he’s serious and when he’s joking.

And yet, it was Father John Misty’s phenomenal music that was the night’s real story. The lyrics were captivating, the sound was flawless, and the band pushed all the right buttons at exactly the right times.

Each song felt alive. Songs from the new album came with something added — a fresh guitar lick here, an unexpected lyrical emphasis there. Songs from his 2012 debut Fear Fun were given new twists — like an unexpected drum solo during “I’m Writing A Novel.” Father John knew exactly when to stand back and give a bandmate time in the spotlight (like during a wonderful guitar solo in “This Is Sally Hatchet”) and when to deploy his showmanship to drive songs to new heights (like the entirety of raucous confessional, “The Ideal Husband”). Live shows should offer up new ways to appreciate songs you’ve heard countless time, and by that measure, this show was wildly successful.

This is, admittedly, a biased review. I Love You, Honeybear is my favorite album to come out in several years (this doesn’t mean it’s the best, just my favorite). It hasn’t left my car in months, and it has turned me into a Father John Misty evangelist of sorts; I can’t stop telling people about the album. It’s rare for me to catch an artist live right at the height of my obsession, so my expectations for the show were sky-high.

But those expectations were exceeded even before he ended his encore with a blistering, balls-to-the-walls full-band cover of Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box” that shook the walls of the 120-year-old theater.

Covering Nirvana, of all bands, makes perfect sense for Father John, since Kurt Cobain seemed to understand the mythological nature of rock ‘n’ roll better than just about anyone.

“I know exactly what I’m doing up here,” he said to begin a tangent that led into “Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins).” Here, I think, he was telling the truth.

Father John Misty is a truly special artist, and his show at the Pabst Theater on Sunday, May 31, was the type of performance that can turn a myth into a legend.