As an appointed guest writer on this blog, I hope to do maintain its illustrious reputation in my account of this event. So a couple weeks ago, Claudia, Jordan, Jesse and I went to the Magnetic Fields show at the Wilshire Ebell Theater. Let me start off by saying that his venue was surprisingly upscale being that it’s located in a, how shall I say, dodgier area of town. I certainly can’t remember the last time I was personally seated by an usher at an indie show. 
I have to say that I was pretty stoked to see this band, and didn’t mind the considerable rift between our seats. Jesse and I were lucky enough to be sitting in front of a girl with a giant oversized “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” tattoo all over her left arm, which was lovely. 
The opening act was a very stripped down two-man band with kind of a loungy, piano bar vibe to them. The singer had no idea he wasn’t Elvis Costello. Their songs, as mawkish as they were, were actually pretty charming and if not for the singer’s obnoxious, misanthropic comments throughout the set this band would have been pretty likeable.
And then it was time for Magnetic Fields to come on. It kind of struck me at first to see how staid and calm these guys were. They were all so dignified in the way they played. It kind of lulled me into a dreamlike trance the whole night. Also notable was the band’s cute ironic repartee in between songs.
As truly lovely as the set was, there was a sense of sameness that crept in about halfway through. The songs did start to bleed together in my head at some point. For a band that is so skilled and creating perfectly crafted pop gems, they had virtually no vigor on stage. I kept waiting for that moment where they’d kick up the tempo, break out that bouncy synth, and really go for it. Unfortunately that didn’t happen. But that aside, it was still a magical show fully of truly beautiful moments.
After the show we headed over to Hollywood to pay a visit to our favorite Thai place: Toi. As usual, good times were had by all.
It was rather a beautiful night.
Brett!!! I love it. That dude from the first act was out of control. Almost made me wanna leave!
ReplyDeleteAnd although I greatly enjoyed the show, I totally appreciate your criticism of how low energy it was. I would have loved to hear strange powers and all the umbrellas in london like the soothing synth pop songs i love so much. Stephin Merrit is still amazing though!
Ok, that guy from the first act had a great voice and really good imagery in his lyrics. you guys are sourpatches...
ReplyDeletenice post though brett
ReplyDeletethat guy was nuts!!! he sounded like a bitter new yorker in dire need of a vacation and a therapist. meh
ReplyDelete