Infinite Shuffle

I have visited New York City a few times the last couple of years, and I’ve managed to go to at least one indie rock show each time. My favorite was definitely Memorial Day weekend last year when my host and I attended a show that was so “Brooklyn” that it could have been a scene from Girls.

It being New York, there was no shortage of things to do on this particular night. After narrowing it down to two possible shows, we finally picked one not too far from his place in Prospect Lefferts Gardens at The Red Lotus Room.

To give you an idea of how hipster this affair was, the show was a fundraiser for an upcoming solar-powered music and arts festival. As for the venue, it looked like some abandoned warehouse or something similar. There was a dude standing outside the nondescript entrance, and I thought for sure he was gonna ask for the secret password.

Once inside, we found a sparsely decorated space with some mismatched and eclectic furniture and a stage in the corner. I didn’t feel like paying for alcohol, so I chose a carbonated coffee drink that I immediately fell in love with. And after a couple of opening acts — Christina Courtin was good, the other was not memorable — we were treated to a surprisingly solid show from headliner Magic Man.

The Boston-based band hadn’t officially put out any music at the time, so I held off writing about it. Since then, I’ve seen Magic Man pop up from time to time, and it appears that they released an EP, You Are Here, in September.

The indie-synth band definitely has been influenced by The Killers and their brethren. You can hear it on two of their best songs, “Texas” and “Nova Scotia”. Another track, “Waves”, takes that modern electro vibe and makes it sound nostalgic, like something straight out of 1985.

“Every Day” is a relatively catchy tune that, at times, sounds like a male version of HAIM‘s “Forever”.

The one less-than-stellar track here, “Paris”, isn’t bad, but it’s not great either. It’s basically just filler that sounds off compared to the rest of the songs on the release.

Magic Man is heading out on tour this month, supporting Panic! At the Disco. They’ll be traversing the country, so you should consider checking them out. And feel free to leave before the headliner takes the stage.