The Magnetic Fields Ward Off The Pod People At Town Hall
On Thursday night, we were introduced to The Magnetic Fields love for science fiction movies. While tuning before the first song, pianist Claudia Gonson introduced this topic when she commented on how the triangular lights above our heads looked like pods. Later on there was discussion about the plotline to 2001: A Space Odyssey, which moved on to their obsession with Blade Runner and the significance of the unicorn.
When they werent discussing whether or not Rick Deckard was a replicant, the Stephin Merritt-led quintet displayed their songwriting magic. Their set was broken into two 45 minute intervals, split in half by a short intermission. The band was loose, but the playing was precise. Stripped-down to a more acoustic setting, much different than the [distortion-heavy sound David Chiu spoke about earlier this week], the songs stood solidly on the foundation of the playful songwriting and lyrics. Oftentimes the ironic humor in the lyrics would receive a laughter-filled response. Occasionally it would become annoying, when the same person would laugh at every humorous line, but the joy of hearing the songs made that easy to ignore.
Over the hour and half set Stephin Merritt, Claudio Gonson, and Shirley Simms rotated through vocal duties. The songs came from everywhere inside the Stephin Merritt treasure chest, touching upon all of his various projects (the 6ths, Future Bible Heroes..etc). Surprisingly the band member who sang on the recorded version of the song allowed another member to sing their songs, which gave these songs a special freshness. The best example of this came with Shirley Simms perfect rendition of Take Ecstasy with Me.
For anyone whos feeling a little down in dumps, I cant think of many better bands to look to for a pick up. The Magnetic Fields will be playing Town Hall the next three nights, but Sundays show seems to be the only one with tickets still available.