How many of us have driven to Chicago while singing along with Sufjan Stevens, as he sings about driving to Chicago? It’s the most cliché thing, but it’s also the best, and you have to do it. If you have the opportunity to sing Sufjan Stevens’ “Chicago” in Chicago — preferably with strings and horns and another indie star as your backup singer — then you’ve got to do that, too. That’s what Japanese Breakfast did last night.

Last night, Japanese Breakfast and Frankie Cosmos played the second night of a two-night stand at Chicago’s Salt Shed. On the first night, the band covered Wilco’s Chicago classic “Jesus, Etc.” That’s a very cool thing to do, but Japanese Breakfast have done that before — including last year at the Pitchfork Festival, with Jeff Tweedy joining the band. On the second Chicago night, though? That’s when Japanese Breakfast sang “Chicago.”

“Chicago” is the perfect, glittering centerpiece from Sufjan Stevens’ 2005 classic Illinois. It’s a big song that demands a big performance, and Michelle Zauner sang it with a whole lot of instruments and with Greta Kline, the person behind opening act Frankie Cosmos, singing backup. It’s not the first time that Japanese Breakfast have taken on Sufjan; Zauner released a version of “Romulus” in 2021. But covering “Chicago” in Chicago is a whole other deal. Zauner seemed to positively glow when she sang it, and the crowd went appropriately berserk. It’s a special moment, as you can see in the fan videos below.

https://twitter.com/noweakhugs/status/1678634532067573760

“Chicago,” baby! What a song!