Eighteen years ago the Magnetic Fields played a difficult show at a Houston club. Over the weekend, they created a magic moment at the Heights Theater
The Magnetic Fields are, from left, Chris Ewen, Anthony Kaczynski, Stephin Merritt, Shirley Simms and Sam Davol.The awful grinding sound began the moment Shirley Simms played the familiar first notes of “The Book of Love,” one of the Magnetic Fields’ best and best-known songs. Five Fields were on stage, but this tune asked only for Simms playing an eight-string tenor ukulele and Stephin Merritt, the author of the song, singing.
This time the interruption didn’t happen. The only other sound audible in the Heights Theater on Friday was the ghostly murmur of a crowd gently and reverently singing along — a stage effect to which no lighting system or smoke machine could compare. The show slipped into a rare space of participatory sublimity.We don’t all seek the same thing from a concert. Some want favorites, some want surprises. Some want release, others reflection.
The set was expertly assembled around that familiar core, with the playful songs interspersed to create ample space for the heartbreaking songs to break hearts. There were tears among those gathered.Director who grew up with Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan tells their story from the inside in 'Brothers'
The effect was astounding, a word I hesitate to use for such a quiet show, but four days later I’m still moved by it, so much so that it made me reflective about a lifetime of attending live music. Some of the most moving moments of live music I’ve seen were not the crescendos. Having just seen Bruce Springsteen prove it not all night but for three remarkable hours, I know the value of a concert with high RPM.
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