Magdalena Bay brought intricate set design and Y2K internet aesthetics to San Diego’s The Observatory North Park on Sept. 22 for a sold-out show. The Imaginal Mystery Tour first began not long after their second album, “Imaginal Disk,” was released in August 2024. The duo decided to tour the album a second time this fall, adding San Diego as a late addition and making it their first time headlining in the city. 

Magdalena Bay consists of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin, who met as high schoolers in Miami. They created a rock band together called Tabula Rasa before splitting off as a duo and eventually as a couple. The duo experiments in synthpop with disco and rock influences. 

The experimental theme of the night started strong with the opener, Oxis. Sitting in a single chair, Oxis mixed her music live with only a guitar, voice transformer and loop station. Her hypnotic electronica drew in the audience, even if many weren’t familiar with her work. Oxis enamoured the crowd with her continuous use of fish names as song titles and timid delivery. 

The need for a minimalistic opener began to make sense when the stage’s black screen was removed to reveal a large and thematic stage setup. 

The elaborate setup consisted of a large set of stairs, a portal-shaped screen, cloud sculptures and rock formations. The visuals were made to mirror those from their music videos and interactive map website. 

The performance truly felt like a production and was almost play-like. Magdalena Bay moved through the same storyline on stage as in their “Imaginal Disk” album, going mostly in the same order as the album, with a few additions from past projects. 

Gallery • 5 Photos

Manorack Sukhaseum

Magdalena Bay closing their third song of the night at The Observatory North Park on Sept. 22, 2025

With the live band and Lewin taking the stage first, Tenenbaum’s arrival on stage was met with roaring cheers as they started at the top of the album with “She Looked Like Me!” and “Killing Time.” This was followed by “True Blue Interlude,” a monologued style interlude that transitioned smoothly into a fan favorite, “Image.”

These songs set up the storyline of the album. In the story, Tenenbaum takes the role of True, a blue-faced girl who gets a disk inserted into her head by an alien doctor. Throughout the rest of the plot, True rejects the disk on a journey of self-discovery. 

A red-faced “alien” took the stage during “Fear, Sex” and, in a theatrical struggle with Tenenbaum, “placed” the disc into her head. There were multiple occurrences of costume changes and prop usage throughout the show. 

During the next song, “Vampire in the Corner,” Tenenbaum donned a sunflower mask as she sang atop a boxed platform. Hanging her head, she sang the lyrics “sorry like a sunflower that never gets any sun / I hang my head down, let the bees do their buzz.” 

Tenenbaum had the crowd captivated, easily creating a clapping rhythm during “Tunnel Vision.” The song descended into a chaos of drums, guitar and distortion as Tenenbaum put on a yellow monster mask. 

She easily transitioned back into the upbeat synthpop vibes of popular songs like “Top Dog,” “Tonguetwister” and “Love Is Everywhere.” The duo performed two unreleased songs during the show, “Paint Me A Picture” and “Second Sleep,” which had fans itching for a new release. 

Magdalena Bay got the crowd even more involved for their song “That’s My Floor.” Tenenbaum started the chanting of “three, four, down to the floor, lose control, a little more,” which she instructed to keep going as she sang the actual lyrics to the song. This re-energized the crowd as the show got closer to its end. 

Taunenbaum squeezed in two more costumes in the last three songs: a fiery shoulder cape for “Wandering Eyes” and a ballet leotard with angel wings for “Angel on a Satellite” and “The Ballad of Matt & Mica.” “Angel on a Satellite” transported the audience to a stormy night, with rain sounds and visuals filling the air, along with beautiful piano playing by Lewin. 

When the group disappeared for a short pause before the encore, the audience erupted into two separate chants. The classic “one more song” was mixed with “play the new song” from those hoping to hear “Second Sleep,” which debuted at a Lollapalooza afterparty and subsequent shows. 

Since Lewin typically sticks to the keys and drums, it was exciting to hear him sing for the first time during the encore performance of “Dreamcatching.” 

“That’s an oldie for sure,” Tenenbaum said about the track from their 2021 debut album “Mercurial World.” 

After playing their long-awaited unreleased track, Magdalena Bay closed out the show with the last track from “Mercurial World”, ironically titled “The Beginning.” The song felt like the perfect way to end the night, an upbeat dance track that slowly fades into its ending. The fitting lyrics, “so if you feel low, sit back, enjoy the show,” encapsulate the atmosphere of escapism and imagination created by Magdalena Bay. 

“We’ve made this moment eternal!” Tenenbaum declared to the crowd in her closing statements as the night came to an end. 

Magdalena Bay created an immersive night to remember. Even as the lights came up, many fans stayed to take photos of the unique stage layout. As fans filtered out onto the streets of North Park, awe of the performance quality was a common theme as attendees left in wonder.