New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The Magnetic Fields have brought their 50 Song Memoir tour—which chronicles the 50 years of songwriter Stephin Merritt's life with one song per year—to the UK and Ireland. The tour, performed over two nights in each city (songs 1-25 on night one, songs 26-50 on night two), begins with two nights at the Edinburgh International Festival this Friday and Saturday, followed by dates in Dublin, Bristol, Liverpool, and Brighton, culminating at London's Barbican Hall on
September 9 and 10. The group will give the exclusive Australian presentation of the show at the Melbourne Festival in October. See below for details or visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.
In addition to his vocals on all 50 songs, Merritt plays more than 100 instruments on 50 Song Memoir, ranging from ukulele to piano to drum machine to abacus. In concert, the music is played and sung by a newly expanded Magnetic Fields septet in a stage set featuring 50 years of artifacts both musical (vintage computers, reel-to-reel tape decks, newly invented instruments), and decorative (tiki bar, shag carpet, vintage magazines for the perusal of idle musicians). The seven performers each play seven different instruments, either traditional (cello, charango, clavichord) or invented in the last 50 years (Slinky guitar, Swarmatron, synthesizer). The stage extravaganza is directed by the award-winning José Zayas.
The five-disc 50 Song Memoir was released on Nonesuch Records earlier this year to critical acclaim. It's "quite an achievement," says NPR Music. "Some of its wordplay is truly remarkable ... More importantly, Memoir is a tour-de-farce of melody and arrangement." Pitchfork calls 50 Song Memoir "an immersive, incisive listen ... It suggests that our deepest wisdom can be located in our most personal thoughts." The Wall Street Journal calls it "a highly entertaining summary of pop culture of the past half-century … 50 Song Memoir is a treat."
To pick up a copy of 50 Song Memoir, head to iTunes, Amazon, or the Nonesuch Store, where CD and vinyl orders include a download of the complete set at checkout.
THE MAGNETIC FIELDS ON TOUR
Aug 25 King's Theatre Edinburgh, UK
Aug 26 King's Theatre Edinburgh, UK
Aug 28 The
National Concert Hall Dublin, IRELAND
Aug 29 The
National Concert Hall Dublin, IRELAND
Aug 31 Colston Hall Bristol, UK
Sep 1 Colston Hall Bristol, UK
Sep 3 Philharmonic Hall Liverpool, UK
Sep 4 Philharmonic Hall Liverpool, UK
Sep 7 Brighton Dome Brighton, UK
Sep 8 Brighton Dome Brighton, UK
Sep 9 Barbican Hall London, UK
Sep 10 Barbican Hall London, UK
Oct 21 Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
Oct 22 Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
