The Somerville Theatre is not your typical alternative concert venue. But then, the Magnetic Fields are anything but typical. I took my seat (at an altitude that makes the stage swirl) in the cramped balcony and awkwardly positioned myself for a long wait. The seats filled up with hipsters, and I was seated next to a 30-something couple that seemed out of place. I knew I was in for a fun evening when the gentleman explained to his wife and I, "See, all the cheap seats fill up with cool people. I bet all of these 'kids' despise Clay Aiken and his lot." An odd choice, but right you are, sir.
Valentine's Day in Boston provided the perfect backdrop for lead singer/songwriter Stephen Merritt's lovelorn lyrics. He and pianist/vocalist/manager Claudia Gonson organized the Magnetic Fields here with Sam Davol and John Woo, and played their first live show at T.T. the Bear's Place in Cambridge. Hometown show expectations were lofty, but the bar-raising three-disc set 69 Love Songs, exploring every aspect of love with every musical genre, met and surpassed all of them. Inter band chit-chat poked fun at relationships, but illuminated the ethereal humor and dreary reality woven into songs like "Zombie Boy" and "Epitaph for my Heart."
The Magnetic Fields' most recent release, Distortion, has been criticized as overly influenced by Merritt's first project, The Jesus and Mary Chain. Each song is flooded with feedback and grainy undercurrents. After hearing the unplugged versions of "California Girls" and "Too Drunk to Dream," they could stand to lose this layer of background fuzz.
It is safe to say someone spiked the Davis Square water supply with quirky charm for Feb. 14. The audience was a mix of seasoned hipsters, high school dates, and 20-somethings. Many people were distracted as Merritt threw his hands up to plug his ears after a tune, or rushed off stage for intermission and after the final curtain; his ears are extremely sensitive and cannot handle the wild applause, laughter, and hooting that followed each song. The set list also featured songs by Fields off-shoots, the Gothic Archies and The 6ths. Blending all of their different bands, themes, styles, and albums, the Magnetic Fields produced a show pattern as intricate as love itself. A-
2008 Woodie Awards
