Review | Japanese Breakfast Is a Full-On Feast

Watching Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner emerge on stage at the Bowl like Botticelli’s Birth of Venus from a clamshell is surreal. Unlike the nude goddess of love, Zauner’s school girl outfit looks more like Ludwig Bemelmans’s Madeline character (only in red, instead of blue):

“In an old house in Paris / that was covered with vines / lived 12 little girls/ in two straight lines / the smallest one was Madeline.”

Zauner may be the smallest one on stage, but she certainly has a huge presence in this carefully constructed dreamscape of a show. With scenic flats of waves that are frozen mid-crash framing the set, there’s an air of purposeful unreality to the night, which often feels more like performance art than a rock concert.

The mostly sad lyrics of a set that includes songs from the band’s new release, For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women), as well as 2021’s Jubilee, 2017’s Soft Sounds from Another Planet, and 2016’s Psychopomp, contrast with Zauner’s joyful performance and obvious glee in being up on stage on such a beautiful summer night. She seems almost giddy at times, and that feeling is infectious as we ride the waves of emotions right along with her. 

The opening notes of “Here Is Someone,” with the words, “Quietly dreaming of slower days … Life is sad, but here is someone,” perfectly set us up for both the dreamy mood of the night and the universal feelings that Zauner expresses so well.  

Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast, Santa Barbara Bowl, August 23, 2025 | Photo: Carl Perry

It’s particularly intriguing for me to see Michelle the performer, playing with her voice and her persona on stage, having interviewed Michelle the writer just days before (story here). 

The swelling violin and acoustic guitars on “Orlando in Love” add a fuller sound to the mix. “The Body Is a Blade,”  from Soft Sounds from Another Planet is another standout tune, as is “My Baby (Got Nothing at All),” written for Celine Song’s new film The Materialists. “It’s about falling in love with people with no money,” says Zauner of the boppy yet somehow still sort of haunting tune. 

With each new song, the mood of the night continues to evolve and build, like a feast in the hands of a master chef, with Zauner and tour band members Peter Bradley, Deven Craige, Craig Hendrix, Lauren Elizabeth Baba, and Adam Schatz evoking layer upon layer of flavors. From the smooth jazzy sounds of “Slide Tackle,” to the new-wave ’80s synth-popish “Be Sweet,” and the ironic lounge-lizardy tune “Winter in L.A.” (with the lyrics “I wish you had a happier woman / One that could leave the house / Someone who loves the sun / Loves everyone”) — it all intrigues and surprises me in various ways. 

This is what people mean when they say “It gives me all the feels,” I think to myself at one point. 

Zauner seems to be feeling that too, as she marvels, “This is our job. This is pretty cool. I don’t know why, but this is really hitting me today. Why are you guys here,” she gestures to the audience. “This is crazy. We’re just a weird little band.” 

She’s not wrong, they are kind of a weird little band. But there’s something about them that took us on an excellently dreamy little journey that night. And I, for one, am game to go back anytime.