Kevin Bronson on February 11th, 2015

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By Tatiana Grace Simonian

Josh Tillman, the hip-swinging troubadour known as Father John Misty, brought his promo tour to the Roxy Theatre on Monday night on the eve of the release of his new album “I Love You, Honeybear.” The capacity show could aptly be described as a raucous panty-dropper, a fitting irony considering Tillman’s new album is a love letter to his wife, Emma Elizabeth Tillman.

• ||| Photos by David Benjamin

Tillman and his expansive backing band opened with the lilting title track and immediately sent the crowd into a frenzy. Following with “Strange Encounter,” he remarked, “A very happy release eve to me. Can’t wait to just release everywhere.” A captivating, flamboyant frontman with intellectual lyrics, psychedelic love songs and raw sexuality, Tillman reminded us a bit of Wayne Coyne (pre-divorce and hanging with Miley Cyrus).

Throughout the night it was clear that the former Fleet Foxes drummer could do no wrong; fans approach this former evangelical as if he is a messiah of his own making. As he jumped into the audience at one point to sing, no crowd surfing occurred — instead, fans grabbed his hands and mussed his hair. It was a weird and yet wonderful occurrence. Equally weird and wonderful? No one held up phones for the majority of the show. Was it because it was a crowd too chic to bother with such gauche behavior or because the music was that rapturous? You could argue perhaps it was a bit of both.

That said, the Angeleno crowd proudly cheered any time the city was mentioned — as if to say, “Finally, something without artifice, that we can proudly claim as our own.” Indeed. As the show was strangely on the Sunset Strip, more famously known for birthing the Doors, Motley Crue and GnR, Tillman staked his claim with abandon and irony nonetheless. “There are hair metal ghosts in the ether just barfing or crying right now,” he said five songs into the show. Did anyone else wonder why he wasn’t playing Silver Lake? Then again, this is a guy who liked to frequent the Chateau — not exactly your budget watering hole.

After 17 songs, the band retreated. Upon returning to the stage, Tillman quipped, “Thanks for the mandatory encore applause. The jig is up.” He then played “Bored in the USA,” perhaps the greatest song penned by an American singer-songwriter about American life written in the past decade. Bold? Sure, why not, it’s true.

In a day and age, where album sales are on the decline as are attention spans, Tillman makes a great case for both your wallet and your devotion. (If you disagree, you can certainly download the Casio-version of his album for free, via his app SAP.)

Entrance Band frontman Guy Blakeslee opened the night with a pared-down set rife with vibrato and self-possession.