When I first discovered the highly acclaimed debut studio album Mercurial World by electro pop duo Magdalena Bay, shortly after its release in October 2021, I knew it had to be followed up with a tour. After spending the following months diving much deeper into the duo’s catalog than necessary, the news of a tour blessed my Instagram feed. Sometime around the start of 2022, I saw the tickets on sale, but I contemplated my circumstances. None of my friends had known any songs by Magdalena Bay, nor did they even know the duo by name. Who would come along with me to this concert? I didn’t want to bring a random family member or friend to listen to music that would not resonate with them as much as it would with me. However, these questions didn’t stop me from buying myself a single ticket. I decided I should just go to this concert alone, yet I had never been to a concert by myself before. I didn’t tell my parents that I had already purchased the ticket, and I waited until the week before the concert in February to tell them. My father agreed to give me a ride to the concert, and I realized everything about this intimidating experience would turn out to be just fine.

On February 21st, 2022, I prepared myself for the concert that awaited me that night. I didn’t own any merchandise of the band to wear to the show, so I just threw on some lightly warm clothes, as it seemed Philly was going to be surprisingly warm that night, and it definitely was. After a straight drive to the Fillmore in Philadelphia, I left the car and stood in a line of people waiting for the gates of the Fillmore’s Foundry venue to open. Standing in line by myself as an awkward seventeen-year-old made me fairly nervous, but I was more than excited to see Magdalena Bay perform. I had never been inside the Foundry, let alone the Fillmore, so I didn’t know what to expect to see inside. Soon enough, the gates opened and I walked up the stairs into the Foundry, and to my surprise, the venue seemed very homely and calm. Thankfully, with how early I made it to the venue, I found myself standing no more than four feet away from the stage. I wanted to grab a t-shirt or anything I could from the merch bar, but I turned around to see a much bigger crowd than before, so I decided to not sacrifice my closeness to the stage. I remained patient for the show to start, as more and more attendees gathered around the floor.

As the lights dimmed, the opening singer, Cecile Believe, and her DJ arrived on stage. I hadn’t heard of her before, but she has a very noteworthy voice with a wide vocal range. The duo’s overall performance was decent and clean, alas it didn’t move me as much as it moved others. After the lengthy opening performance from Cecile Believe, Magdalena Bay’s new touring drummer, Nick Villa, emerged onto the stage and adjusted his drum kit. Following Villa came the first half of Magdalena Bay, Matt Lewin, to set up his guitars and other pieces of equipment. After a few moments of technical adjustments, both Matt Lewin and Mica Tenenbaum of Magdalena Bay, dressed in colorful suits with abstract shapes all over, were on stage.

They opened with their ironically titled song, “The End”. With the loud, booming speakers, ready to burst any ill-protected ears, Magdalena Bay was about to play the entirety of Mercurial World. The duo also created a fictional artificial intelligence character, Chaeri, to add bits of comedy throughout. With even more people shuffling towards the stage, I somehow managed to get an even closer spot and watched the stellar performance of “Dawning of the Season”, which seemed to be a crowd favorite. With only three performers on stage, the techniques of quickly switching instruments between songs, and sometimes during the songs, seemed very professional and practiced. Lewin’s basslines and guitar licks were a highlight of each song, especially during the back-to-back performances of fan favorites, “Secrets (Your Fire)” and “You Lose!”. Tenenbaum and Lewin synchronously jumped around the stage during the beloved single, “Chaeri”, as the crowd did the same. Upon reaching the song “Halfway”, Magdalena Bay found a short and sweet break to relax for a very minimal amount of time.

After the peaceful midway point, another fan favorite, “Hysterical Us” was performed, accompanied by a delightful surprise, a melodica solo from Mica Tenenbaum. I was lucky enough to be right in front of her during the sweet solo. From this point, the rest of the setlist was the much more relaxed latter half of their debut album. During “Follow the Leader”, Tenenbaum had clearly been missing the rabbit mask she normally wears during the performance of this song, so she instead climbed onto one of the large speakers in a short panic. Chaeri, the fictional A.I., was cleverly used to provide vocals during the performance of “Domino”. And to wrap up the full performance of their debut album, they performed the electrified “The Beginning”. The whole crowd cheered for an encore, as did I, and Magdalena Bay delivered with three of their older songs, including their most popular song, “Killshot”, performed with a short section based on the song’s “Slowed + Reverbed” remix, which surprised me.

After Magdalena Bay wrapped up their final performances, Tenenbaum announced that she would be at the merch bar shortly after catching her breath. I quickly got into the line for the merch bar, which was decently long, but I was afraid I would be too late to meet Mica Tenenbaum. I must have looked like a child to everyone around me, but I had determination. As the line moved slowly, Tenenbaum quickly ran over to the merch bar to take pictures and sign autographs for fans. Before I knew it, I was at the merch bar, and seeing no t-shirts in my size, I decided to purchase a nice Magdalena Bay baseball cap. A few minutes later, Mica Tenenbaum was right in front of me, and I nervously said, “This is so surreal.” She laughed and she signed the bill for my new hat. I asked for a picture with her, and a nice person offered to take them for me. I gratefully agreed, and afterward, I walked away with a wide smile under my mask. I passed by Matt Lewin, as he was cleaning the stage, but I was shy and did not want to bother him for any autographs or pictures, so I decided to leave.

Reflecting on this experience, I felt a new sense of independence. Before the concert, I naturally feared the worst in going to a concert alone, but thankfully, everything went well. Magdalena Bay performed amazingly during each song, and I hope to see this duo grow in the future. Maybe someday I will go to a concert for the tour of their next album, and I can finally get Matt Lewin’s signature on my nice purple hat. Until then, I have new keepsakes so that I can hold onto the memories I made at the Fillmore that night. While I do think going solo to the Magdalena Bay concert was a great experience for me, I hope my next concert will be with a friend who will be as moved by the music as I am.