Magnolia Electric Company concert write-up

I was lucky enough to catch MEC in Toronto a couple weeks ago, at Lee's Palace, the same venue they'd played in March of this year when (wife) Vicki and I went to see them but couldn't get tickets (sold out the day before). This time we planned it out better and ordered the tickets online a month or more ahead of time through TicketMaster, so no problem getting in! Our good friend, Tim, who actually introduced us to MEC was going to join us there. Interestingly, the three of us were all coming from different locations and went out separate ways after the concert: Tim had just flown in from Philadelphia (business trip) and had to be in T.O. the next day; Vicki was in T.O. for 2 days, on business; and I drove to T.O. a few hours before the concert and hit the road back home right after it. But we managed to all make it there, although Tim missed the opening band because his flight in was so late in the evening.

I've already forgotten the name of the opener (wait: remembering now.. Shearwater!), but they were actually quite good. While they were performing, and just before Tim arrived, I had a truly great experience: I spotted MEC song-writer and lead singer Jason Molina talking to a woman near the bar, and so I sauntered over to see if I could say "Hi." I recognized him instantly because, when the 3 of us saw MEC in the summer of 2005, Tim and I had been standing only a couple feet from the stage. This amazing vantage point had left me with a crystal clear memory of just what Jason looked like, so he wasn't hard to spot in Lee's Palace. I waited patiently while he talked to the woman, who I think was the first opening act (before the band we saw) although even Vicki and I hadn't gotten there early enough to see her, so I can't be sure. Anyway, once they parted company, I introduced myself ("really big fan from down the highway") and struck up a conversation with him. He remembered the concert from the year before, even down to the fact that it had so incredibly hot in the bar that night. I told him how much my wife and I had come to enjoy their music, including back into the Songs: OHIA material. He was nothing but gracious and humble, and we talked for a few minutes before I shook his hand and wished him luck for the night's show. When I got back to where Vicki was standing (where she'd been watching all this, very amused I'm sure!) I recounted the conversation to her as best I could over the band that was still playing. A minute or two later, I remembered that I'd brought my digital camera (intending to get shots of MEC on stage) and yet I hadn't gotten a shot of Molina. When I mentioned this to Vicki, she gave me a look like, "OK, now you're going to scare the poor guy…" But I figured it was potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and as I said to her, the worst he could say was, "No" and I'd be OK with that. So I found him again in the bar (this time he was standing by himself), and said, "If this is an imposition, just say so… but is there any chance my wife could take a photo of the two of us together? It'd really mean a lot to me." And the look on his face was priceless, as it honestly looked to me like he couldn't believe anyone would actually want to get a photo with him! He immediately said, "Oh, sure, no problem, happy to… where's your wife at? Lead the way" and off we headed to find Vicki again. So we spent a couple minutes trying to find the best place in the dark bar to take a photo, and eventually found one and Vicki took one of the coolest photos my trusty digital camera has ever taken! Considering how much MEC and Songs:OHIA music I've listened to over the past 18 months, it's hard to put into words how rewarding the photo and conversations were. And even just in terms of finding out he's not a jerk or full of himself, but instead very humble and approachable, meant a lot to me after years of meeting comic book pros at conventions and often being disappointed.

A minute or two after the photo was taken, Tim arrived, and I got to recount the whole experience all over again! It was now between acts, so at least things were quieter.

Another good exchange, before MEC took the stage, involved another of the band members, Pete Schreiner. He seems to always get the job of working the CD/T-shirt table, where you can buy merchandise when the band's not on stage. Tim and I had bought some CDs from him the previous time we saw them, but didn't know he was with the band until they came on stage and we saw him up there! So this time I knew enough to talk to him about the band when I was buying the new MEC CD from him, when we first arrived at Lee's. I found out things like the fact that the MEC tours actually "pay the bills", as he put it, unlike any other band he'd been a part of. Pete mentioned that Molina gets a lot of royalty cheques for songs he's written and makes sure he takes care of the rest of the band. Pete does construction work when he's not touring, but it was interesting to me that he could make enough touring to cover bills (considering tickets are usually $13 or so and only maybe 100 people are at the concert), although he did say they travel by bus and try to stay in friends' homes rather than hotel rooms, to keep the expenses low.
Anyway, after we'd talked for awhile, he pulled out a CD for a band called "Thousand Arrows" that he's in, and said, "You might be interested in this…" I saw that the copy of it on the table was priced at $10 so it'd only be polite to buy one of his CDs after talking to him for awhile, but when I tried to give him money for it, he wouldn't take it. I said, "C'mon, after hearing how you guys have to work so hard to keep expenses down, I'm not going to let you give me this" but he said, "No, please, I'm pushing it on you, I want you just take it. Maybe you'll really like it, and someday I'll be touring with my band and you'll come out to see us." Again, not the sort of experience I'm used to having. But what a positive impression to make on someone! (I've just started listening to the CD recently, and haven't really formed an opinion yet. Vicki listened to it on the way to her mom's yesterday and said she liked it).

The concert itself was fantastic, as we'd all expected it to be. They did a lot of new material, most of which was from the new CD that had just come out the day before, so pretty much unknown to the three of us. Normally I find it hard to enjoy songs when I'm hearing them for the first time, in concert, but most of what I heard I liked, right away. I scribbled down notes but when you don't know the music, it's hard to guess at what the title would be. I've done my best to fill in titles since, as I'm now quite familiar with "Fading Trails" (the new CD) and recognize most of what was new to us that night. Apparently the group is known for doing short sets (what do you expect for $13?) with no encores, but Jason came out and did a song by himself for the encore, so hopefully they felt the positive energy coming off the crowd. Here's my best guess at the set list (titles in quotes, with ? at the end, are ones I can't resolve as they weren't known to me and didn't show up on "Fading Trails"):

Talk to Me Devil, Again
Hammer Down
Memphis Moon
Don't Fade on Me (my personal favourite from the new CD)
"Takin' it too hard"?
Leave the City
What Comes After the Blues
Lonesome Valley
No Moon on the Water (apparently a Molina solo song)
The Dark Don't Hide It
"200 miles from …"?
Be Simple Again
Montgomery Bound
(encore)
"Lord, It's Time"?

And the capper of the night was the conversation as we left: all 3 of us agreed we'd happily go out to see MEC in concert once a month, if we could!!
Happy, happy time!