The Magic Numbers played not only one, but two shows at the Troubadour in a single night. I went to the later show and wondered if they would be tired by the time I got to see them. I had just
seen them at Vegoose a couple of days before and with their early performance on Morning Becomes Eclectic coupled with these shows, the poor band has been put through a pretty strenuous schedule. Luckily, the Magic Numbers have tons of energy and were able to deliver an amazing performance. The two sets of siblings played almost every song off their self-titled debut album that has been wildly popular in the UK, and is starting to get notice stateside. They play pretty, slightly folk-tinged pop, with lovely melodies. It makes sense that Angelinos would like the Numbers because when listening to them you wonder if they were influenced by The Beach Boys, The Mamas and the Papas, and The Grateful Dead, all of which not only hail from California, but are also thought to embody a distinctly Californian sound. Not that the Numbers dont have their own distinct sound; they take these influences and meld them into their own breed of pop music reminiscent of previous decades, but also grounded in the present.
Everyone loves a band that looks like theyre enjoying themselves on stage.
The Magic Numbers epitomize this. Not only do they look like theyre having a great time, they look as though they genuinely like, or in this case because theyre siblings, love each other. This warm and fuzzy feeling seems to transfer to the crowd. Watching Romeo, the lead singer, just makes me want to smile. Romeos sis, the bassist, just kills it and looks like she knows she does. Highlights of their set included Mornings Eleven, which got the crowd bopping and the beautiful I See You, You See Me, which spotlights Angelas voice, which I hope to hear more of on their next record. The Numbers performance was infectious and made me leave the Troubadour feeling like I was floating on a cloud. Thanks for keeping up the pace!
