THE MAGNETIC FIELDS @ QUEEN ELIZABETH THEATRE: BEAUTIFUL, CLEVER & PECULIAR

Did you know that in the Canadian Governmental hierarchy, the Prime Minister is actually third in line? In fact, it is actually the Queen of England who legitimately sits as top ranked head of state (or province) - she even has her mug on all of the Canadian coins & has an intimate acoustically sound theatre named after her based at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. This seven-dollar-a-beer venue housed an up close & entertaining night with The Magnetic Fields on Monday showcasing their most recent release Realism.

Magnetic Fields shows are an amalgamation of witty banter & depressing tunes spearheaded by the band’s chief singer/songwriter Stephin Merritt’s signature baritone, Calvin Johnston-esque voice and soft strum of the ukulele alongside his musical partner, pianist and second vocalist, Claudia Gonson. Both however, were a tad under the weather, suffering from a cold (laryngitis in Gonson’s case).

Nonetheless, the show went on as The Magnetic Fields opened with ‘Lindy-Lou’, which is actually a 6ths song (one of Merritt’s other projects) and foreshadowing of the peculiarity of the night to come. The second tune, ‘You Must Be Out Of Your Mind’, was the first of many Realism selections. Others included ‘Hootenanny’ & ‘Walk A Lonely Road’.


In the midst of new material, TMF did find the time to play a wide range of their older, Merge-era material. Off of their most recognizable release, 69 Love Songs, TMF performed ‘Acoustic Guitar’ (which Gonson may have struggled with due to her illness) as well as about a half dozen other classics. There were also snippets of The Wayward Bus & another 6ths song, ‘Falling Out Of Love With You’ (one of the best tracks of the night).

Luckily, for the drinkers in the crowd, there was a fifteen minute intermission. The second set ended with ‘Summer Lies’, before an encore consisting of ‘I’m Tongue-Tied’ & ‘100,000 Fireflies’ which Merritt humorously & ironically introduced earlier in the evening as the first song. ‘He’s joking’ Gonson informed us.

In essence, it was a sincere performance by Merritt, Gonson and company. My personal highlights were the quiet seconds it took for the audience to get some of the more clever jokes made by Merritt and the cello solo on ‘Fall In Love With The Wolf Boy’ by Sam Davol.

There are few artists that come across with as much honesty as Merritt. If you’ve seen him and The Magnetic Fields before, then you know how intimate & personal the shows can be. Regardless of how much Merritt hates performing, it is a blessing to witness him in action (even if he hides under that hideous ball cap and/or is sick). ‘We’ve had a bunch of cold medicine’ he proclaimed in between songs - a peculiar night indeed.

Published by The Music Slut