Magnetic Fields at The Olympia Theatre on April 28th 2012
Review: Sean Noone
Photos: Yan Bourke
It’s hard to know what to make of Magnetic Fields. They have been together for over 20 years but have never really cracked the mainstream. They use three different lead singers with three distinctive voices. Nearly all of their songs are on the same topic (love) and few last longer than three minutes. The songs explore many facets of sexuality – straight, homosexual and lesbian – and one of their compilations of such songs, 1999’s ’69 Love Songs’, lasts about four hours.
That particular album is undoubtedly their magnum opus but it also a shadow from under which they have been unable to emerge. Perhaps it’s a case of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, but they haven’t really changed from the short, witty, love song formula since then.
It’s strange then, given the enigmatic nature of the band, that their show in the Olympia provides little unexpected. That could be a complaint, but surely only if you expect to be disappointed. The only real disappointment is the crowd size. There were many empty seats in the theatre which had already made the decision not to open its upper circle.
They take the stage just after nine o’clock and immediately set the tone for the night: some brief repartee between members Claudia Gonson and Stephin Merritt (yes, that is how his name is spelt) is followed by a three or so minute song littered with wit.
It is fair to say that the night lacks natural peaks as no momentum is built up at any stage of the show. It even nods towards cabaret with a ‘talk a bit, sing a bit’ style. This works out well however as the audience, fully seated, are happy to sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
The audience occasionally seems like one of those anecdotal Japanese ones: whenever there is sound emanating from the stage, there is silence all round. As soon as the song ends, there is cheering and rapturous applause.
It also helps that the setlist is handled very well. Many of the songs played from the new album, ‘Love at the Bottom of the Sea’, are the catchiest and funniest. Andrew in Drag (sample lyric ‘The only girl I’ve ever loved was Andrew in drag’) and Your Girlfriends Face (the story of a jilted lover hiring a hitman) are particular highlights of this.
Even for those who don’t appreciate the newer, less familiar material, there is always the comfort in knowing that a classic like Chicken with its Head Cut Off or Reno Dakota is only a short song away. And one of these classics, The Book of Love, is the highlight of the night. Other than the acoustic guitar and Merritt’s bass vocals no other noise seems to be made in the entire auditorium. It is a deep, beautiful moment.
And then, after twenty-seven songs in just over ninety minutes, and the clichéd ‘We love Dublin’ platitudes and fake finale, the Magnetic Fields left the stage for the final time of a thoroughly enjoyable, but never quite exhilarating, evening.
The Magnetic Fields Photo Gallery
Photos: Yan Bourke
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