Japanese Breakfast / Ginger Root @ South Side Ballroom, Dallas, TX

Words and photos by Scott Rowe

Much like in my review of Khruangbin review, the fact that I had not seen Japanese Breakfast until this year, still puzzles me. I missed the show at the Studio at the Factory back in 2021, when Michelle Zauner was touring off the release of Jubilee, my first real introduction into Japanese Breakfast and her style of music. I remember seeing the marketing for that show but dismissed it, but after I had heard the album, completely regretted not getting to see that show. Fast forward four years, Japanese Breakfast finally made their way back to Dallas since that 2021 show, touring off of her latest release, For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women). The album itself is a departure from the cheery sounds of Jubilee, but with Zauner's strong songwriting and incredible knack for painting pictures with her songs, you know you're in good hands.

Opening for Zauner was Cameron Lew, otherwise known for his music project called Ginger Root. Now I'm very familiar with Ginger Root, as I have two younger sisters and one of them is a huge Ginger Root fan. His brand of indie/city pop has played in our household for a few years now, but this would be my first time seeing Ginger Root perform. And they did not disappoint. Their show was well-thought out, as there are multiple elements that go into a Ginger Root performance. Live video screens and prerecorded videos that accompany the performance, but the main character is the music. The bulk of the ten-song setlist came from their 2024 release, SHINBANGUMI, but they made to throw in the classic "Loretta" for good measure. The sign of a good performance for any artist is the buzz after their set and a line at the merch table. Well, the buzz was in the air and the line wrapped around itself for Ginger Root merch.

The amazing thing about Zauner is her dynamic range within her music, where she can lull thousands inside a venue to rest or have them jumping up and down, belting out every word to her songs. I feel like tonight's show was not only a mixture of those sentiments, but a clear divide within the setlist. While the opening songs of "Here is Someone" and "Orlando in Love" fell into the softer sides of her catalog, "Honey Water" pulls on the grungy heartstrings, and her extended roaring outro completed one of the louder parts of her show. "Boyish" is not only a crowd favorite, but it gives the South Side audience their first time at a venue-wide singalong.

As much as I enjoyed the downtempo of the first two-thirds of the show, I definitely had a more uplifting feeling towards the end of the show, as she closed her set with "Posing in Bondage" from Jubilee. With a handful of songs remaining, I knew if I enjoyed "Posing...", I was going to hit full stride in the encore. With that said, Zauner and company come back on stage to hit the crowd with the one-two punch of "Paprika" and "Be Sweet". I have been waiting patiently to hear "Paprika" live for a handful of years, so it was nice to have finally marked it off my list of awesome songs I need to hear live. "Be Sweet" was just icing on the cake, with its uptempo synth-driven sound and Zauner's fantastic voice and playfulness. The show closing "Diving Woman" was a culmination of the show's parts, adding parts of Zauner's songwriting ability matched with her band's tight sound, to the overall fun in their droning grooves and dance moves proved that this ticket was well worth the price of admission.

Photos of the show are below:

Ginger Root