Miki Ratsula Live at The El Rey Theater

Last Wednesday, May 25th, I clocked out of work just shy of two hours before Miki Ratsula’s opening show at the El Rey Theater began. I told my friend Emily as we drove into Los Angeles how I could be on Broadway with how fast I did an outfit change. However, LA traffic was easy on us that night and we arrived at the venue moments before the show started. Did we have to run from the parking garage? Maybe. But, our rush was all worth it once we made it inside the venue and Miki came on stage under a purple light, beaming at the crowd before them.

This was the second to last show of Lauren Sanderson’s “Death of a Fantasy” tour that Miki and artist JORDY were supporting. Miki first performed their song “Missing June” which should definitely be added to everyone’s Summer playlist. The sweet song embodied that certain nostalgia Summer leaves us with and Miki channeled that lighthearted remembrance through their bright vocals. Everyone around me was swaying to their tune and I caught myself in that same movement. Towards the end of the song, the crowd was clapping above their heads in usion to the words “Now my heart’s a little heavy, missing June.” It was that coined nostalgia I mentioned earlier that each person could relate to.

Miki’s stage presence was one of a kind. They alternated between playing the guitar and walking around the stage with ease, grooving to their own catchy songs, bopping their head. I was definitely filled with the small anxieties from racing to the venue earlier, however, all of those feelings evaporated as Miki kept singing and smiling at the crowd. They had this super welcoming demeanor that paired with lyricism that was vulnerable and heartfelt. It was a sort of understanding between the crowd and the stage that I have seen few artists achieve. Miki did exactly that, with a performance that felt both like a long hug in the rain and like the warmth of golden-hour.

Earlier in the show, Miki talked about how they just released their debut album “i owe it to myself” just two months ago (on March 25th). This led into them performing their song “suffocate” from the album, which featured the headlining artist Lauren Sanderson. This song truly brought out the range of Miki’s vocals and I was quickly tuned into the magic of their voice and their indie-pop sound. The crowd whooped and cheered when they began this song as it featured two of the artists performing that night.

It is important to note that all of the performers were part of the LGBTQ+ community. Every artist created an extremely safe space that night for the community through their conversations and their music. Miki initially introduced themself by including that they are a trans, non-binary artist, and that their pronouns are they / them. About halfway through their act, Miki acknowledged that “I am now a year, two months post top surgery” and how their single “second” from their debut album reflected on this. They explained that they wrote the song when “I realized that I was non-binary, realized that I wanted top surgery, and how fucking terrifying that feeling was. So I wrote the song to process through that.” They also said “If you relate to this song, my heart breaks for you. So I hope that we can heal through it together in this moment.” Miki compelled these sentiments through the song with wholehearted resonance under a red light. The El Rey Theater captured a beautiful performance of sincere lyricism and raw emotion in that moment.

I was definitely sad when Miki said that they were about to perform their last song of the night, “i didn’t know any better.” I could’ve listened to them sing the whole night! It honestly felt like waking up from a dream once the curtains closed and the intermission music began playing. The crowd was fully energized in the wake of the performance as people started dancing amongst themselves, sharing that intimate feeling brought to the atmosphere by Miki.