Magic Sword Enchant The Fillmore In Minneapolis

It was a special experience being at this concert. Being a recent transplant to the Minneapolis area, I was excited to get into the venues in the area and see what they’re like. When Magic Sword cleared me to photograph them during their current tour with Avatar at the Fillmore, I was beyond stoked – both because this would be my first photographic experience in the Twin Cities, but also because Magic Sword are AWESOME.

Hailing from Boise, Idaho, they have been around the block in terms of creating synthwave music (having been active since 2013), but (in my opinion) have been sorely underrated most of that time. Their melding of what is an intrinsically visual genre (its overall sound being very closely tied to imagery and iconography from the 80s and most especially John Carpenter-esque soundtracks) to a fully realized lore and storyline (here) is nothing short of brilliant and grounds their music. What’s really special about them is that the quality of music is such that even if their wasn’t already a graphic novel for each release, a new listener could easily imagine what that might look like just by listening to them!

So – does it translate live?

Absolutely it does! Shrouded in mystery with their cloaks and masks, their image on stage is exactly and mysterious and otherworldly as the music that they play. Leaning on a more guitar-oriented style of synthwave, epic solos and enormous bass lines abound as they smoothly transitioned from song to song. In the past, the band has stated that they attempt to bring the audience along on a journey in the lore of their music and story, and experiencing their music live, they absolutely crush that goal. The trio does not speak a single word during their performances, instead letting their music do the speaking for them. Being in the audience that night felt like being transported to a completely different plane of existence. Their too-short set seemed to be over in the blink of an eye, but was actually well over 30 minutes of electronic-rock bliss.

Folks already following them will be pleased to hear many cuts from Endless (their album from 2020), but older tracks as well (such as In The Face Of Evil).

All in all, an incredible, INCREDIBLE set and I cannot wait to see them again!

Below are photos from that set:

Who: Magic Sword, Avatar’s Going Hunting Tour 2021

Where: Fillmore, Minneapolis, Minnesota

When: September 22, 2021

Don’t miss Magic Sword supporting Avatar at one of the remaining tour dates below:

Sept. 26 – Oklahoma City, Okla. @ Diamond Ballroom
Sept. 27 – Dallas, Texas @ House of Blues
Sept. 28 – Houston, Texas @ House of Blues
Sept. 29 – San Antonio, Texas @ The Aztec Theater
Oct. 1 – Albuquerque, N.M. @ Sunshine Theater
Oct. 2 – Denver, Colo. @ Summit
Oct. 3 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ The Depot
Oct. 5 – Phoenix, Ariz. @ The Van Buren
Oct. 6 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Wiltern
Oct. 7 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ House of Blues
Oct. 8 – Sacramento, Calif. @ Aftershock
Oct. 10 – Grand Junction, Colo. @ Mesa Theater
Oct. 12 – Billings, Mont. @ Pub Station
Oct. 14 – Spokane, Wash. @ Knitting Factory
Oct. 15 – Portland Ore. @ Roseland Theater
Oct. 16 – Garden City, Idaho @ Revolution Concert House and Event Center
Oct. 18 – Seattle, Wash. @ Neptune