The Magnetic Fields, Leeds Academy. 1st September 2022

This has been a long time coming for me, but sometimes things don’t go to plan. I’ll explain later. I’ve never seen The Magnetic Fields live before. Largely because they don’t play in the UK that much. So it’s a trip across to Leeds tonight to finally catch up with Stephin Merritt and Co. Right away that seems a bit of a disservice to the rest of the band. Okay this is Merritt’s baby but many of the band have been with him since the 90s, when I like many I fell in love with the 69 Love Songs album. Claudia Gonson’s voice particularly is as much of that album as anything, she’s the perfect counter to Merritt’s deep baritone. There’s lots in the set tonight from that album, which is handy for me as it’s by far the record I know best. For any casual listeners that only ever got that far though, trust me you need to dig deeper and starting with the latest record Quickies is probably a good place. It sounds and feels much like Love Songs. Razor sharp wit wrapped in whimsical melodies. Sadly I miss the opening 20 odd minutes of tonight’s set, so keep in mind I can’t claim this as a full review. ‘Andrew in Drag’ is playing as I walk in, but it’s ‘The Day the Politicians Died’ from Quickies that’s being played as I grab a beer and find a seat. It’s brilliant and I’m instantly hooked. Stephin proclaims his voice is going as he glides into ‘The Book of Love’ and to be fair a few notes do sound a little raw, but it’s still magnificent. You can hear a pin drop, the audience in awe. Next up is ‘The Biggest Tits in History’ with Claudia taking over. It’s bouncy and fun, no pun intended. A lot of The Magnetic Fields songs are notable for their more sparse minimal sound, but with four acoustic guitars, synth and a cello on stage, songs like ‘Quick!’ fill Leeds Academy with beautiful warm tones. Speaking of warm, ‘Papa was a Rodeo’ is like honey in your ears. Rarely do I get this sort of sensation at gigs. It’s the sort of song that freezes time. The crowd love it, applauding loudly as Stephin plugs his bad ear until it passes. ‘All My Little Words’ has everyone singing along, respectfully of course, it’s that kind of gig. ‘Kiss Me Like You Mean It’ follows, giving Stephin a break, as Claudia sings with the ukulele, accompanied by the piano and Sam’s cello. It’s like a gorgeous sweeping rollercoaster ride with the brakes gently applied. ‘The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side’ keeps up the 69 flow. It’s a catchy little sod, feet tapping, heads bobbing. John puts down his guitar to sing and everyone joins in. It’s delightful. ‘Death Pact (Let’s Make A)’ serves as a brief interlude at mere seconds (hey the album is called Quickies), before the sombre tones of ‘No One Will Ever Love You’ brings a little darkness, “where is the madness that you promised me?”. Things get a bit heated at the back during ‘Take Ecstasy With Me’ as a few folks get noisy at the bar, quickly to be quietened down with a deftly delivered “WILL YOU LOT SHUT THE FUCK UP!” from a fellow patron. They don’t muck about in Yorkshire. As the set concludes, everything is drowned out with cheers as they’re beckoned back for an encore with ‘100,000 fireflies’, but it’s a short encore and everyone’s a bit surprised there’s not more. I’m aware I’ve probably missed some great songs, but you can’t dwell on that. I’m just thankful I got here and witnessed a blissful 70 minutes. The reason I was late was being stuck on a closed motorway as someone contemplated taking their life from a bridge. I hope they’re okay. If I knew who they were I’d offer to take them to a gig. Music has helped me so much and tonight’s gig although truncated is every bit testament to that. Thank goodness for live music and thank you The Magnetic Fields.