Concert Review: Magdalena Bay at Antone’s
Magdelena Bay’s “Mercurial World” U.S. tour stopped in Austin with an ACL Fest Night concert at Antone’s on October 14, 2022.
Written by Audrey Kendrick
Photos by Amelia Tapia
The crowd at Antone’s cozy indoor venue was talkative, praising the cyber-aesthetic and hypnotic hooks of Magdelena Bay. After the airy, willowy opening songs by Alaska Reid, audience members pressed closer against the stage, searching for openings to better see a digital background of holographic hands holding a globe. As stage managers weaved in and out with a computer monitor-headed mannequin and strings of LED lights, it neared 11:15 p.m.
An electronic wave of funky percussion and jazzy keyboard broke the murmuring. Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin took the stage, one in a wildly patterned skin-tight leotard with flared sleeves and the other an equally tight jumpsuit that stretched from ankle to wrist. Flowing across the stage in a playful dance, Tenenbaumlooked sweetly at the audience before singing, “Secrets… I don't want to tell you everything about me.” Her pastel, feminine voice melted into Lewin’s electronic elements, and the audience swayed along until a final reverberating synth note signaled the end of “Secrets (Your Fire).”
A xylophone theme and the dreamy voices of Tenenbaum and Lewin lured listeners into a trace during follow-up track “Venice.” With effortless diction, they softly sang, “Oh when the sun is falling to the sea / Come on / It's all about you and me.” In a series of “Ahhs,” the group ebbed and flowed, continuously moving to the tempo, leading the crowd to clap on beat. They repeated the song’s colorful verses until they became an earworm, while the stage’s digital display showed scenes of water, sand, and crabs. Cascading keyboard riffs and backing synth transported the audience to the shorelines of California.
Following the beachy track, the pair introduced Chaeri, an AI that they sought to teach to be more human through song. A glowing white mask nodded on the digital screen behind them, robotically responding that it was ready to hear their music.
Immediately launching to the helplessly catchy “u wanna dance,” the strong marching beat was accompanied by skeletons synchronously dancing on the screen. “Mine” slipped into a harsher sound with a strong electric guitar, occasional screams, and an erratically changing background of neurons, stuffed animals, an asian market, and other eclectic gifs. Next came “Chaeri,” which slowed the tempo with a futuristic, 80s inspired ballad. During its bridge, Tenenbaum jumped down into the crowd, cutting across to its center while singing, “Let’s come alive!”
In a brief interlude, they continued to interact with the AI, ‘feeding it secrets' by playing audio clips of anonymous confessions. Ranging from cheating admissions to inner-truths about feelings of loneliness, each revelation shocked the audience and Chaeri alike. Guided by the past vulnerability, Lewin opened the next song with strumming guitar, and Tenenbaum deeply growled the opening verse to the cathartic, heartbroken “You Lose.”
Chaeri later reappeared on screen after witnessing a wide range of human emotions in their performance. She curiously noted how everyone in the crowd was “moving their bodies in a rhythmic fashion.” Moving from feelings to action, the AI’s artificial voice proclaimed, “I would like to dance.”
A reverberating piano intro cut by sharp percussion signaled the start of “How to Get Physical.” Simmering through the upbeat verse, the chorus erupted in sugary disco sound and various displays of glittery, rainbow-filled backgrounds. Tenenbaum’s soaring keyboard solo of improvised melodic, ascending riffs during the song’s outro magnetically moved the crowd to jump.
After the track, Chaeri returned to the stage and asked for a real body, signaling the start of their next song, “Body.” The sultry song continued the upbeat groove with its house inspired electronic flare. Moving into a surrealist, multi-layered style, they seamlessly switched to “Dreamcatching.” Lewin shredded on synthesizer and guitar, explosively ending the lush setlist.
Almost instantly calling for more, the audience began rounds of applause. Chaeri appeared for one last time, egging them on by distortedly repeating the phrase “Please clap now...”
Waltzing back up to the stage, the band launched into the mesmerizing “Killshot,” layering dark vocals, syncopated drums, and a catchy bass riff. Tenenbaum sensually danced, pulling her body into each direction the music swelled. As they transitioned into a slowed and reverbed version of the track, the crowd stood transfixed, moving their hands through each wave of the beat.
The hypnotic energy continued through the fast-paced, high energy “Set Me Off.” “Mercurial World” followed it with an otherworldly, mellow style, which transitioned to a downpour of psychedelic synth sounds and visuals of abstract shapes and vibrant colors.
Thanking everyone one last time before their joyous exit, the band poetically ended with “The Beginning.” Their signature bubble gum pop sound and visuals of stars left everyone grinning and repeating the verses alongside Tenenbaum and Lewin up until the end. As the screen faded to black, the band waved and danced away, leaving in a fever dream haze of pink, blue, and green light. From the imaginative designs on their displays to the bursts of genre switches with inescapable danceability, their performance transported listeners into an unearthly place, a Mercurial World.