The spectacular synth-pop duo of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, known as Magdalena Bay, brought the immense world of their latest record, Imaginal Disk, to a sold-out two-night run at Thalia Hall this past weekend! The duo are no strangers to Chicago; having played at Lollapalooza last year as well as a respective Lolla aftershow, the band clearly has a considerable fanbase in our beloved city. I got the chance to catch them at that Lolla aftershow as well as at 2022's Pitchfork Music Festival so naturally I felt compelled to attend yet another Magdalena Bay show. I have nothing but praise for this band and it seems that every time I catch them they are putting on better and better shows that have been so dynamic every single time! The band has been gaining substantial traction online, especially after their track “Killshot” went viral on the internet’s infamous abyss, TikTok.
When I arrived at the venue; it seemed as though the whole room was already packed to its capacity just before the Psychedelic-pop band opener, Valgur, took the stage for a refreshing synthy set. Valgur perfectly encapsulated the energy and vibe for the evening and the crowd seemed to be very into them as their sound excellently reflected on Magdalena Bay’s sound.
Magdalena Bay is an eclectic duo and as a result; their stage setup was visually riveting, with an oval-shaped full-body “mirror” that projected the band’s visuals for the show. Center stage there were also steps set up for Mica to climb on and have an elevated platform to perform on. In this whole stage production, accompanied with small hints of performance art sprinkled throughout their set and a variety of outfits and costume changes; Magdalena Bay has truly outdone themselves with how whimsical and captivating they made their live shows this tour as well as their brilliantly produced album Imaginal Disk.
Fans welcomed the band on stage with a roar of ovation; Mica wearing a flowy blue garment and Matthew wearing red from head to toe. The duo performed Imaginal Disk in its entirety front to back with some flawlessly integrated transitions in between and throughout the set that shined the limelight to songs from their debut album, Mercurial World. This included some of their highlights off the album like “Secrets (Your Fire),” “Chaeri,” and “Dreamcatching.” They performed my favorite track, “Image,” off their new album and it reverbed beautifully throughout Thalia Hall which got the whole crowd dancing along with Mica.
Magdalena Bay performed all of Imaginal Disk made this show that much more special for fans (and myself). Add to that they brought back some of their greatest hits to fill out their already tremendous setlist. It was still an unforgettable sequence of songs that split the new album perfectly throughout the night, though they neglected songs from their beloved Mini Mix EP collection, The duo closed out with their usual closing track, “The Beginning” which in my opinion could not be more perfect for closing out their shows and their album Mercurial World. The crowd carelessly danced and jumped around as the set sadly wrapped up a rather euphoric evening!
I have been following the band since their debut album in 2021 and the follow-up to an already immaculate record was truly everything we as fans could have hoped for! They continuously pump out uniquely great music that pleasantly surprises me every single time. The level of energy and passion that this duo brought to Thalia Hall Saturday night was unmatched; and they just keep getting better and better both on stage and with their music. It truly is an exciting year for music in 2024 and Magdalena Bay may take the cake for one of the best record releases of this year for me.
All photos by Andrew Lagunas.