Review: Magnolia Electric Company at Middle East Downstairs

 
Photo by Dylan Long

Everyone who is familiar with Magnolia Electric Co. can agree on one thing - the band is DEEP. So their set on Friday at the Middle East Downstairs was surprisingly refreshing in that it was more of a dance party, complete with drunk Russian girls screaming, "Ya! Ya!" at the stage, and less of a philosophy lesson.

The openers - Mr. Sister, Natureboy, The Donkeys - were a good tease, but the audience was anxiously waiting for the main act - and Magnolia didn't disappoint. Live, Magnolia took on the characteristics of a rock-‘n-roll jam band. Songs would start off familiar then twist off into a jam session, complete with intricate solos. Even a song like "The Rock of Ages," from the Josephine album (due out today) wasn't as solemn and heavy as the hymn of the same title. The show didn't seem well-rehearsed, but Jason Molina, the lead singer, knew what the hell he was doing.

The band played a mix of their old stuff and some from their new album Josephine, an album loosely described as a tribute album to Magnolia's late bassist and friend, Evan Farrell. But the mood during the concert was anything but brooding. As Molina showered the crowd with beer (with a twist of lime...classy), head-banged, and spouted out random and incoherent potty-mouthed jokes, the crowd danced to a fever pitch, shouting out as if they were celebrating a life rather than mourning it. The audience's favorite song of the night? They didn't seem to care. "Play the one with the song in it!" they exclaimed, before Molina moved into another rock-‘n-roll tinged set.

READ: A CD review of Magnolia Electric Co.'s latest album Josephine. By Ryan Stewart