Magic Man in Boston: Exclusive Interview and Review

Just a few months after their July show in the WBRU Dunkin’ Donuts Summer Concert Series, Magic Man are now co-headlining a nationwide fall tour with Smallpools. The five-piece synth rock band, consisting of vocalist Alex Caplow, keyboardist Justine Bowe, bassist Gabe Goodman, drummer Joey Sulkowski, and guitarist Sam Vanderhoop Lee, is known for their singles “Paris,” which they performed on Late Night with Seth Meyers in August, and “Texas,” whose music video starring actress Abigail Breslin was released in September. I met up with Alex, Gabe, Sam, and Joey at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston before their sold-out show on Sunday night and you can listen to the WBRU Exclusive interview RIGHT HERE. Magic Man’s strong connection to their fans was definitely apparent on Sunday night, with Alex (already holding gifts from fans at the front of the line) greeting concertgoers as they walked into the venue when the doors opened around 6:45 PM. Magic Man’s eleven-song set began with “Texas,” the lively synth-driven opener to their album, Before the Waves. The atmosphere for Sunday’s show was immediately established, with the crowd ecstatically singing and dancing along. Alex told fans, “It’s good to be home,” and Boston was more than happy to give the band a warm homecoming, enthusiastically cheering after each song throughout the show. Audience interaction was a constant throughout the hour-long show, with the audience waving their hands with Alex to “Apollo,” only to drop them to sway with the music. The dancing continued through their performance of “Out of Mind,” an energetic track that features a guitar solo that garnered special applause. Prior to the start of “Catherine,” Alex got the building to practice singing the song’s opening, which helped maintain the light-hearted atmosphere at Paradise Rock Club that night. They then slowed things down with “Honey,” a fan-favorite that brought out even more smartphones from the audience for filming. “Waves” was met with especially loud cheering, prompting the band the smile to each other and Alex to hug Justine. Alex then told the crowd, “You guys are making this the best night ever. I’m never going to forget this.” The feeling seemed mutual, with the crowd clapping and moving along to “Tonight,” an anthematic song that had fans singing “Tonight we’re all believers,” with Alex as he leaned into the crowd. The feeling of family within the audience continued to heighten when Alex got the crowd to happily shout “Happy birthday, Dad!” in honor of the birthdays of both his and Joey’s dads. Prior to the last song of the set, Alex sincerely told the crowd, “Boston, you’ve been incredible. I hope to meet each and everyone of you after the show.” (He kept his word; I saw him talking to fans after their set.) “Paris,” the last song and highlight of the show, had the entire audience loudly singing along and bouncing to the beat. The ending of “Paris” culminated with a powerful crescendo and Alex falling into the crowd. The audience cheered for several minutes after the set’s conclusion and I left Paradise Rock Club that night knowing that it was a lot more than just a hometown connection that brought Magic Man together with their fans to create an amazing atmosphere in Boston. Magic Man are bringing their incredible energy with them while they head westward on their tour throughout November, but you can check out their album Before the Waves here and their July in-studio interview with WBRU below!