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Week In Rock: Valentines, Vampires and Vatican Edition

Published Feb 19, 2010

Modified Apr 10, 2010

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Magnetic Fields at BAM"Valentine's Day is a day for martyr's," Stephin Merritt said wryly at the start of The Magnetic Fields two-set, one-off show at BAM last Saturday night. It was a night filled with songs about wolfboys, vampires and moons, the theater thick with three-part harmonies and the back-and-forth repartee of Merritt and manager/best friend/antagonist Claudia Gonson. The show was sweetly intimate, and begged the questions: Is there any better contemporary cataloger of the mutating states of love than Merritt, and is there any better group to spend Valentine's eve alone with?The current line-up's sound mimics the band's latest album, Realism, Merritt's somewhat stiff take on a "folk" record, which is closer to Judy Collins early 70's recordings than Dave Van Ronk or Joan Baez. It's a staunchly natural sounding record, utilizing only acoustic instrumentation, and it translated spaciously for this show; the instruments were delicately balanced and crystal clear (and the arrangements were never cluttered), allowing the vocals and harmonies to stand center stage. The sold-out crowd was rapturous in their attention to the lyrics; whereas past Magnetic Fields shows have at times tended toward rock-band levels, the crowd here was appreciative and receptive for the chance to absorb each phrase, allowing Merritt to charm via his understated jokes, laconic grumpiness, and stripped poofball knit hat. The 5-piece included Merritt on ukulele, Gonson on keyboards/vocals, John Woo on acoustic guitar, Sam Devol on cello, and Shirley Simms on autoharp/vocals. Assembled on shag carpets, they ran through over 20 stripped-down versions of past and present Fields (and 6th's and other side-project) songs. Most of Realism was aired, including a standout take of "Always Already Gone," but the highest highlights were several songs from their masterpiece, 69 Love Songsâthe gentle "Acoustic Guitar," the Bo-Diddly aping "I'm Sorry I Love You," the nearly-anthemic "I Don't Want To Get Over You," and the lyrical courtship dance of "Wi Nae Wee Bairn Ye'll Me Beget." A stripped-down reading of Distortion's "The Nun's Litany," sans that albums fuzz, revealed itself as one of Merritt's funniest compositions, and the night ended with a gentle encore rendition of the bands first single, "100,000 Fireflies."You can get an idea of what the band's newest tour looks/sounds like here. The Magnetic Fields are coming back to NYC in mid-March with three dates scheduled at Town Hall. — Gothamist

Ben Yakas

Published Feb 19, 2010

Modified Apr 10, 2010

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Click through for more on Magnetic Fields, this year's ATP Festival in New York, and the Pope!

Also This Week:

Yoko Ono and her Plastic Ono Band (including Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, and others) rocked BAM
An Interview with Stew
New bands are running out of ideas for band-names
Guns 'n Roses played an impromptu, 3 a.m. gig during Fashion Week (also, Sebastian Bach saved Axl's life)

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Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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