Magnetic Fields at the State Theater

photo by Ryan Muir

On October 10, The Beans, along with Adam and Michael, had the pleasure of seeing the Magnetic Fields at the far from packed State Theater in Minneapolis for the opening night of their US tour promoting their newest album, Distortion.

The 5-person team played an extremely laid back show, stopping at times to chat with the crowd, amongst each other or simply to comment on the interior of the beautiful theater while trying to remember how a particular song started.

The show was completely acoustic and consisted of two full sets, consisting of an incredible mix of songs from all of their albums, including 69 Love Songs (which is where my love for this band started), followed by a two song encore.

By far the highlight of the first set for me was the last song played before intermission, Papa Was a Rodeo, in which main singer, Stephin Merritt, sang alone before the very attentive, quiet crowd. Other highlights include the beautiful, heartfelt, Book of Love, also sung by Merritt, the hilarious, yet murderous, Yeah! Oh Yeah!, which Claudia Gonson sang while sitting, feet dangling off the edge of the stage, and the final encore of the evening, Grand Canyon.

All in all, the playful, relaxed nature of the band coupled with the acoustic set up made for a very fun and intimate evening. I, for one, am very glad I was of the few that attended. Who knows if The Magnetic Fields will ever be back in Minneapolis...

Ray LaMontagne at the State Theater

Photo By: PedalFreak

On October 4, The Beans were able to see Ray LaMontagne and Leona Naess at the State Theater in downtown Minneapolis. The venue lent a beautiful background to the intimate stage LaMontagne and his bandmates had set.

The Maine resident was in town to promote his new album, Gossip in the Grain. While his other two albums were more solo ventures, this album seems to be more of a group effort supported by his touring bandmates.

LaMontagne opened the show with his first single off the new album, "You Are the Best Thing," a happy love song that The Beans have found themselves singing around the house since the moment they heard it. The song was followed by a much more meloncholy number, "Empty," off his debut album, Trouble. LaMontagne was absolutely moving in his delivery of the soul-shaking lyrics.

He continued with another song from his first album, before returning to some more of his newest material, "Let It Be Me," "Falling Through," and "Meg White."

Next, a three song set solo performance highlighted by "Winter Birds," a favorite for The Beans, especially with the cold weather quickly approaching. Other highlights included "You Can Bring Me Flowers," a heavy hearted track from Ray's second release, 'Til The Suns Turns Black, and "Hey Me, Hey Mama," a song that single-handedly turned the lavish State Theater into a juke joint. When LaMontagne and his band began playing "Trouble," his most well-known song to date, the crowd erupted.

The first encore started off with "Three More Days" and was followed by "Gossip in the Grain."

The night ended with a second encore, "Jolene," a song which many audience members had called for all night.

The show was amazing. Lamontagne's raw, sultry voice is a perfect accompaniment to his soulful lyics.