Magdalena Bay @ House of Blues 4/29

Photography by Matt Lutkins

Review by Sophia Bartlett

Magdalena Bay came to the House of Blues for their largest (and sold-out) Boston show to date on the Imaginal Mystery tour on Tuesday, a red star. The Synth-pop duo consisting of Matt and Mica played the entirety of “Imaginal Disk,” the second studio album by the band, in full.

Blue-painted foreheads were a popular fashion choice for the show, as fans replicated the makeup look worn by lead vocalist Mica during the performance. Matt performed on the guitar. The duo was joined on stage by an additional drummer and keyboardist. Sam Austins opened for the show, and his energy was unmatched, truly preparing the crowd for Magdalena Bay’s performance. This show was his first time playing in Boston, and hopefully it won’t be his last. He moved on stage and took command of the venue like a headlining artist would, calling out to the crowd, and his visible confidence onstage was impressive.

Magdalena Bay’s onstage production included a mirror-like structure with wings on one end of the stage, a window, and a large armchair on the other side, with a three-step platform in the middle of the stage. Both the mirror structure and the window were illuminated with visuals from the bands’ music videos and album visuals. Mica often made prolonged eye contact with the visuals in the mirror set piece, creating a narrative between her and the set design, but never interacted explicitly with it.

The show also included three full costume changes by Mica, starting in a flowy royal blue two-piece. She changed into a similar red outfit before singing “Chaeri,” a song from the album “Mercurial World.” Before “Angel on a Satellite” – the last song of the set before the encore, Mica changed into a baby blue leotard and a sheer, flowy white skirt with angel wings. Matt wore the same red jumpsuit the entire show.

The band also used additional props, including a sunflower headpiece during “Vampire in the Corner,” an allusion to the lyric “Sorry like a flower that never gets any sun, I hang my head down, let the bees do their buzz.” At one point, Mica threw a CD into the crowd, a nod to the album artwork.

While Mica did not interact with the crowd very much, she maintained high engagement throughout the show. During “Chaeri,” she led the crowd in a call-and-response turned sing-along of the lyrics “Three, four down to the floor, loose control, a little more” as she continued to sing the main vocals of the song.

Mica moved gracefully across the stage, moving between dance, jumping, skipping, and singing. On the left side of the stage, she had a stand for her Casico keyboard. She periodically took the instrument from its stand and played on center stage. Matt was relatively stationary on the right side of the stage, but joined Mica on the center pedestal for a few guitar solos throughout the show.

Despite the costume changes and use of props, there was a sense of DIY or homemade quality to the show. The props were stored behind the pedestal, and if you were watching the show from the sides, as I was, you could see each prop being put to use. The show, therefore, had a really fun and playful quality to it that didn’t feel too serious, allowing the audience to let go and have fun: something we all needed during the last week of classes and leading into finals week.

The show generally followed the tracklist of “Imaginal Disk,” which was crucial for the storytelling of this concept album. The album “Imaginal Disk” tells the story of a fictional character named True and her rediscovery of what it means to be human after a CD becomes lodged in her forehead, as she tries to create her ideal self. Popular songs from their previous album, “Mercurial World,” were dispersed throughout, including “Killshot,” “Dreamcatching,” and “The Beginning,” which was also the only song performed during the encore.

If there was one thing I felt the show was missing, it was the use of the giant disco ball built into the House of Blues. The disco ball was only illuminated during the encore. Still, the band utilized heavy lights, strobes, and even replicated the reflection of a disco ball by illuminating lighting projections throughout the performance.

Imaginal Disk was one of my favorite album releases in 2024, and the live performance of this album was incredible. In fact, this show further deepened my appreciation for this record. Magdalena Bay did not let me down in the least. If you missed Magdalena Bay this time around, don’t worry. The Imaginal Mystery tour is coming back to Boston on October 24, 2025, right down the street at MGM Music Hall.