The Magnetic Fields' Depressing Music Has Opposite Effect

I had no idea what to expect walking into the Queen Elizabeth Theatre last night to see The Magnetic Fields.

On the streetcar ride there, all the passengers headed towards Exhibition Place were bubbling over discussing what they might possibly play, how it would sound, and what Stephin Merritt was going to say to us.

When you're gearing up to see a band like The Magnetic Fields, it's hard to not have really high expectations — you want them to play your favourite songs, to be everything you could imagine them to be. One of the most fascinating things is how a band with a repertoire of hundreds of songs choose what they are going to play for an audience without constantly playing the same few songs that everyone loves.

Last night's show was definitely an interesting assortment, with choices that seemed thematic rather than chosen for their popularity.

Of course, they played "I Don't Want to Get Over You" and "100,000 Fireflies," but they seemed to completely gloss over the '80s-inspired tracks off 69 Love Songs that so many of us were anxious to hear. The show instead gave way to a quiet, orchestral setting that made sitting in a theatre all the more appropriate.

There were a few cheers and shouts, but the audience could barely clap along with the songs out of awe. The Magnetic Fields set a completely different stage for themselves last night, and it could not have been more beautiful.

The entire night had a stillness that is so often associated with the tension being in or out of love can have. Seeing The Magnetic Fields in a dark theatre surrounded by people so very in love as you hear "the most depressing, down-tempo songs" (according to Merritt) in the world could not be more of a contrast, and yet it was exactly what the Magnetic Fields set out to do.

I overheard one friend say, "Having your brain receive a musical massage — it just makes every thing feel better." And when Merritt's sardonic charms infused favourites like "I Don't Really Love You Anymore," it made the experience of seeing The Magnetic Fields live something far more uplifting than depressing.