Main Street Recommends

When Magdalena Bay initially released Imaginal Disk, their latest project, on August 23, 2024, something drew me in and compelled me to listen to the full album. Was it the chatter about the record that I had seen circulating social media, amidst the hysteric flurry that was “Brat Summer?” Or was it the album cover itself, depicting an ethereal Mica Tenenbaum looking up, hair windswept, as a creepy, alien-like hand with long fingernails inserts a CD into her forehead? Maybe a mixture of both. That being said, the second I finished listening to the album all the way through, I concluded that it was a masterpiece and would be on repeat for months (and probably years) to come.

Before my Imaginal Disk enlightening, I only knew about Magdalena Bay—an electrifying, (and in my humble opinion) genre-defying duo consisting of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin—through hit songs like “You Lose!” and “Killshot.” It wasn’t until my friends and I scored tickets for their Imaginal Mystery Tour at College Street Music Hall in New Haven, CT, that I began exploring their setlist in earnest, and discovered just how genius they really are. I was all the more ecstatic to see them in person!

Making our way down to New Haven

With this, my friends and I made the trek down to New Haven on April 30 quite eagerly and in our glitziest glam (trying our best to be on theme without being uncomfortable). I decided to drive us there and back so that we could get there on our own time—which was a great call since we took a pitstop for snacks—and get out of there quickly, too!

Upon making it into New Haven around Wooster Square, we opted for the only dinner option we could have gone for at the time: pizza. With the trees in full bloom and the weather nice and sunny, it was a peaceful evening, and we were lucky enough to get a booth at the legendary Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana. We ordered a sampler of three delicious pies, including an original tomato pie, a meatball and ricotta pie, and a pie called “The Special,” which consisted of tomatoes, mozzarella, bacon, pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, peppers, onions, Pecorino Romano, and olive oil. 

All of us enjoyed the meatball and ricotta the most, but it was an incredible meal all-around, and we were happy to try a few different options while taking in the cozy, authentic atmosphere of the restaurant. What a perfect pre-show treat!

Getting ready for the performance

Sufficiently fueled by our dinner and with doors having opened just a few minutes before, we drove over to downtown New Haven, right near Yale University and the New Haven Green. It was super easy to find parking in the garage right across the street from College Street Music Hall, making for a quick walk over to the concert.

Once inside, we hit the bathroom and grabbed drinks before making our way onto the venue’s floor, the setup of which I seriously appreciated. If you haven’t been to College Street Music Hall or heard about the layout, it has tiered sections all the way down the general admission space, sort of like a large, shallow staircase with a ramp running down the middle. At the edge of each of the steps of the “staircase” is a barricade of sorts, making for a nice, low-stakes setup so you can easily get a good view of the show no matter where you are. 

While we initially planned on being a level or two up from the main pit right by the stage, one of my friends managed to find a roomy bubble toward the back of the closest level! Again, I couldn’t have appreciated the layout more: not only was it that much easier to get a place close to the stage, but all of the “standing room only” fears I typically have during a general admission show (pushing, crowd surges, getting stuck with a bad line of sight, etc.) were alleviated. The show kicked off with an energetic, dance-filled performance by the talented Sam Austins.

Before getting into the setlist for Magdalena Bay, I can only describe the aesthetics of this particular era—which appears to be an evolution of their previous Mercurial World vibe—as Frutiger Aero with spacey whimsy and a campy, yet subtly serious, energy. This is especially apparent in the costuming, as when Tenenbaum wears a massive sunflower headpiece for “Vampire in the Corner,” a bug/alien mask for the end of “Tunnel Vision,” and a flowy, iridescent cape—complete with a Heat Miser-esque flame detail—during “Cry for Me.” I’ll warn you that some of the imagery is a little creepy and disquieting, but the map on the Imaginal Disk website captures the vivid details and mildly haunting storyline of the performance incredibly well!

Diving into the Imaginal Disk universe

If you ever listen to Imaginal Disk, you might be like me and find it impossible not to listen to it all the way through in order. It’s one of those albums that simply lends itself to that. However, I think it speaks to the duo’s marvelous craftsmanship that the setlist is exactly that—the album in order—but with songs incorporated from other albums throughout in a seamless (or seam-enhancing) manner. 

Kicking off with “She Looked Like Me!” and “Killing Time,” the duo took us from the whirring buzz of a disk being loaded into a CD player, Tenenbaum’s hypnotic voice, and a goosebump-inducing crescendo, directly into one of my favorite songs from the latest record, with its upbeat melody and thought-provoking lyricism.

From here “True Blue Interlude” and its endearingly conversational essence flows beautifully into “Image,” one of the more popular singles off of Imaginal Disk that gorgeously meshes technological themes and the more airy side of their pop sound.

Then, the group departed into some Mercurial World tracks, starting with “Secrets (Your Fire).” This is such a fun, groovy tune: instant dancing every time. From here, “You Lose!” kept these energetic, electronic vibes going, and it felt somewhat nostalgic hearing the 2021 single live and in person.

Now, one of the coolest moments of the whole show. After “Death & Romance,” which I believe is the first song I listened to off of Imaginal Disk, was “Fear, Sex.” Toward the end of the performance, Tenenbaum began to yell, kneeling on the onstage platform and looking upward, as a figure (pretty sure it was Lewin) with a huge, paper mâché, star-shaped headpiece came up from behind her and “inserted” a disk into her forehead as the music fizzled and red lights flashed. It was such a perfect moment, nodding to both the album cover and the audience’s expectations of the storyline. We were all screaming with awe and joy.

Outfit changes & even more captivating melodies

Then, enter Tenenbaum with the huge sunflower headpiece, embodying floral, intentional movements and belting out the lyrics to “Vampire in the Corner.” What followed was a powerful rendition of “Watching TV,” into “Tunnel Vision,” one of my favorite Imaginal Disk tracks. Following suit with the spooky and theatrical nature of the show, Tenenbaum donned a creepy, half-bug, half-alien mask for the outro of the song, which sounds in many ways like a swarm of buzzing flies or bees…amidst a sort of techno crisis.

Next, they performed the catchy “Top Dog” and “Tonguetwister” off of mini mix vol. 3, a smaller release from 2023. After this, they launched into “Love is Everywhere,” another light and groovy track. Another little interlude, “Feeling Diskinserted?” was succeeded by a soft and electronic Mercurial World tune, “Chaeri.”

Following “That’s My Floor,” Tenenbaum emerged in the fiery, shimmering cape (which complimented her outfit change—a red, planetary look—quite well) to perform “Cry for Me.” She then launched into a popular classic of theirs, “Killshot,” featuring a slowed and reverbed section. Switching gears, they went into a slower ballad, “Wandering Eyes,” from mini mix vol. 3.

It’s worth noting here that Tenenbaum’s final wardrobe change of the night was nothing short of ethereal and ballerina-esque, complete with angel wings for “Angel on a Satellite” and an absolutely fantastic, heartwarming “The Ballad of Matt & Mica.” For the encore, in classic Magdalena Bay fashion, they concluded with “The Beginning” from Mercurial World.

Final reflections

I’m no music industry professional (as can probably be gathered by my word choice throughout this article), so I particularly appreciate this analysis about how Imaginal Disk fits into Magdalena Bay’s body of work, from Travis Shosa’s interview with Tenenbaum and Lewin for The Line of Best Fit: 

Imaginal Disk, the duo’s new album, is the fruit of that desire to marry accessibility with eclecticism. It is patently the most “out there” thing Tenenbaum and Lewin have recorded together, precisely because it is neither normal nor strange, but instead a heated wrestling match between pop convention and the more fanciful tangents and progressions that threaten to twist pop’s form up like a pretzel.

The group has an insanely captivating commitment to the world of their music that makes it hard to stop listening, and hard to look away. It’s so beautiful, so magical, that I’ve explored their discography in earnest since the show. I’d love to see them perform live again, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.

Listen to the setlist from the show below: