Shouting “It’s good to be home, decease Boston, clinic ” is a surefire way to get a hometown crowd to erupt. We love our city and we’re proud of its exports – the newest of which is Magic Man. After a year that included a breakout EP and LP as well as an appearance at Boston Calling, the folks in Magic Man returned on Sunday night and lit up the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion. Naturally, the aforementioned quote kicked off the night and the raucous energy never stopped.
An elongated intro to “Waves” signaled everyone onstage to begin moving with the beat, most notably keyboardist Justine Bow. This ended up being consistent theme for the night, as the band members were constantly mirroring the unbridled energy present in the music. While the crowd wasn’t full yet, the spindly Alex Caplow stepping to the microphone and had the crowd cheering louder than the speakers. When transitioning to “Apollo,” he got everyone in the seated arena on their feet and they didn’t sit down again until the set was over.
The set quickly took an emotive turn during “Out of Mind” when Caplow put his fist to his chest as he sang, “It’s been a week since I fell apart.” It’s a song bubbling over with anxiety and self-doubt which provided a lyrical counterbalance to the animated beat and synth. During the breakdown, Sam Vanderhoop Lee provided a nice flash of his guitar chops, which was a welcome, dynamic break from the prominent synth. Directly following, they broke into “Texas” and just couldn’t stop smiling. They exuded earnestness and seemed almost surprised by their level of success.
The set continued with a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark,” which sounded surprisingly slick when injected with synth this side of 1984. Joey Sulkowski’s drumming was an absolute standout during the song, and Caplow put his own spin on the The Boss’ classic tune, which fit in pretty neatly with the rest of Magic Man’s lyrical content. During “It All Starts Here,” Bowe and bassist Gabe Goodman helped provide absolutely stellar harmonies that helped flesh out the tune which only has a repeating verse and chorus.
Magic Man closed out the night with crowd favorite “Paris.” Everyone was simply on-point. One of the highlights of the night came during the song’s breakdown, which saw Bowe taking over lead vocal duties for a chorus backed only by drums. It was a display of raw power and encapsulated the multifaceted attack that the band to the stage. On Sunday night, Magic Man returned to Boston to show off how they’ve grown and it was clear that the sky is the limit for this burgeoning group.
