Currently on the road in support of their latest album Realism (click here for The Hanging Tree review), Magnetic Fields front man, Stephin Merrit and company wooed the packed house with melancholy tunes filled with dry humor, deadpanned delivery, and at times, quite sardonic song introductions.
Those who believe Merritt's depressed nature and no nonsense tone are for his music only are mistaken. Shy and insecure to a tee, Merritt often left the talking up to band mate, and long time friend, Claudia Gonson who tried to her best to keep the atmosphere lively before singing another song about hating oneself.
"This song is a happy one... and I mean that in a sarcastic way. It's about the love two vampires share." Gonson said before the band launched into "Walk A Lonley Road" - one of the stand out performances of the night. I tried my best to not take anything she said seriously. She was the comic relief after all.
A truly career spanning set, the band hopped through almost two decades of material in seamless and effortless fashion. Almost half of Realism was played as well as fan favorite "100,000 Fireflies", a few selections from the epic box set 69 Love Songs all topped off with songs Merritt wrote under a different band name The 6ths.
Though Merritt may write the material he's not afraid to share the wealth. Autoharpist Shirley Stills and Gonson each carried the same amount of vocal duties as Merritt, and often times to more spectacular results.
Stills, who sounds like the female equivalent of Adam Schlesinger of Fountains Of Wayne, seemed to make the stories and emotions in her performances more tangible. Gonson appeared to struggle at times letting her voice fade in the middle of songs.
Not your usual rock n roll good time, but still a solid, if not fantastic, performance by a band of seasoned veterans. So what if you can't pronounce the title to "Wi' Nae Wee Bairn Ye'll Me Beget", at least it's fun to sing along to. And that's probably the most fun Mr. Melancholy Stephin Merritt is content with having.
Set List:
1. Lindy-Lou
2. You Must Be Out Of Your Mind
3. The One You Really Love
4. Interlude
5. You and Me and The Moon
6. Better Things
7. Falling In Love With The Wolfboy
8. I Don't Want To Get Over You
9. I'm Sorry I Love you
10. Acoustic Guitar
11. The Nun's Litany
12. I Don't Know What To Say
13. Night Falls Like A Grand Piano
14. Falling Out Of Love With You
INTERMISSION
15. Kiss Me Like You Mean It
16. We Are Having A Hootenanny
17. All The Umbrellas In London
18. Wi' Nae Wee Bairn Ye'll Me Beget
19. The Dolls' Tea Party
20. I Don't Really Love You Anymore
21. Walk A Lonely Road
22. Always Already Gone
23. Movies In My Head
24. Fear Of Trains
25. Summer Lies
26. From A Sinking Boat
ENCORE:
27. I'm Tongue-Tied
28. 100,000 Fireflies
No comments:
Post a Comment