[Words and photos by Rez Avissar]

Here We Go Magic’s self-titled debut finds the lo-fi sound of one man in his bedroom plucking away at acoustic guitars, “analog synths, a cassette 4-track, and his trusty SM-57 mic” (as his press release touts), but in their live state, they take the stage as a full five-piece. Together with Luke Temple, they played most of the deservedly blogged-about debut with Temple as the focal point, jumping between electric and acoustic guitars and a synth.

The band played revamped versions of standouts “Fangela” and “Only Pieces” with fuller instrumentation before dropping “Tunnelvision” in the second half of the set. The backing vocals didn’t come through as well live as on the record, although with Temple’s quavering falsetto and added guitar noodling, the song still stood out live as a euphoric bliss-out. The band left Temple alone with an acoustic guitar for a calmer closing tune. On “Fangela”, the FADER recently declared “never has anything been more woozily pretty” and the show was an extension of that — leaving us refreshed, pacified, and feeling the magic.

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