Opening act Gal Musette was an unexpected, sweet surprise. Only fourteen years old (meaning she was not yet born when Merritt began writing 69 Love Songs), Musette and cohort Brent Samson played a set of short, guileless songs with a ragtime flair and a certain underlying melancholy. Musette played piano and ukulele and sang in a high, warbly register, while Samson mostly stuck to acoustic guitar and stomped on a box for percussion. The end result resembled Blossom Dearie collaborating with Low or Ida. Samson did not stop smiling throughout the entire set, at one point enthusing about how he nearly quit music before beginning to collaborate with Musette. Between the two of them, their enthusiasm was infectious. Musette returned to the stage during the Magnetic Fields' set to provide background French translation during "Smoke and Mirrors." Should she and Samson return to St. Louis, don't miss them.
Overheard: "I can't believe I'm getting to see the Magnetic Fields. I don't care if they just throw paper airplanes around onstage; I'm just happy to see them."
Personal Bias: I've probably seen the Magnetic Fields more often than any other band. I attended literally dozens of their shows throughout the 1990s, when I lived in and around New York City. I've known Gonson even longer; we bonded over a shared love of British post-punk at a time when this was not as common as it is now.
Setlist: I Die A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off Your Girlfriend's Face Reno Dakota Come Back from San Francisco Love Is Like Jazz No One Will Ever Love You I've Run Away To Join the Fairies Plant White Roses Drive On, Driver My Husband's Pied-A-Terre The Horrible Party Smoke and Mirrors Goin' Back to The Country Andrew In Drag Quick! Busby Berkeley Dreams Boa Constrictor The Book of Love Fear of Trains You Must Be Out of Your Mind Grand Canyon Swinging London It's Only Time Smile! No One Cares How You Feel (Gothic Archies) Encore: All My Little Words Forever And a Day
