Recent Stories with tag american music club

The male portion of The Magnetic Fields. Photo by joshc.

It's hard to know what to make of these Magnetic Fields. They are a completely non-dynamic band who somehow have a strong stage presence. Singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt is at times downright captivating, though he is also dour and morose. Sure, at Town Hall last night he had a cold, but when I saw him five years ago, he also had a cold then. I think it's safe to say he officially has the consumption. That would make me a little grumpy too.

They're all Stephin's songs, of course. He's got twenty-three or so albums under a variety of monikers (among them Future Bible Heroes, The 6ths, and The Gothic Archies), nine as The Magnetic Fields. Assuredly, at the second Seattle show tonight (some tix still available on Craigslist), he will have a completely different set list.  Last night's crowd got a few from 69 Love Songs, some from i, and plenty from the latest album Realism, the companion to 2008's Distortion. But we also got the b-sides and varieties: one of his Lemony Snicket songs, one of his Hans Christian Andersen songs, two Pieces of April songs, and "100,000 Fireflies," the band's first single. ...

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