Stephin Merritt powered through a head cold as the band performed songs like “All My Little Words,” “Reno Dakota,” and “The Book of Love”
The Magnetic Fields were able to get through eight of their 69 Love Songs during a performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series.
The special performance allowed Stephin Merritt and co. to offer stripped-down takes on some of the songs they’ve been playing around North America this year as they celebrate the 25th anniversary of the classic double album. The performance opened with Anthony Kaczynski singing the short and tender a cappella “Roses,” then continued with Merritt leading a rendition of “All My Little Words.”
Merritt continued to share vocal duties with his bandmates as they played through the rest of the set with Claudia Gonson helming “Reno Dakota,” Kaczynski taking “For We Are the King of the Boudoir,” and Shirley Simms singing “Kiss Me Like You Mean It.” And even though the frontman was reportedly battling a head cold, he still sounded excellent leading “The Book of Love” and harmonizing with Gonson on “Come Back From San Francisco.”
(And as for that stuffed cat Merritt held in his arms the whole time, sharp-eyed Tiny Desk fans might recognize it as a prominent desk prop from past installments.)
The Magnetic Fields kicked off their 69 Love Songs tour earlier this year, with a first North American run in the spring, followed by a slate of European and U.K. shows during the summer. The band’s second North American trek wrapped in early November, but they’ve already added a bunch more dates for spring 2025.
69 Love Songs is also set to feature prominently in the upcoming Broadway play, All In: Comedy About Love, which was written by Simon Rich and will star John Mulaney, Richard Kind, Chloe Fineman, Renée Elise Goldsberry, and more. The album inspired not only the play but also the husband-wife folk-rock duo, the Bengsons, who will be performing select songs from the album (along with other Magnetic Fields hits) as part of the show during its run.
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