Concert Review: Magic Sword

April 29th, 2025 by Liz Kosik

by Eisa Abu-Sbaih ‘25

“In the beginning, there was light and darkness.” 

Magic Sword brought otherworldly energy during the Baltimore leg of their YEAR OF THE SWORD TOUR at Baltimore Soundstage on April 23rd, 2025. The masked trio come with their own legend: “And so it was and shall always be, whenever the need is great, we call upon the power of the Magic Sword.” 

Magic Sword is an electronic band originating from Boise, Idaho. They first released their debut-length album, Magic Sword Vol. 1, in 2013, featuring synthwave tracks like those out of an 80’s video game or retro futuristic movie soundtrack. This was my first introduction to the Baltimore Soundstage, an intimate venue transformed into a mystical lightshow for the evening. 

The night began with Mega Ran, an American nerdcore rapper and DJ. Mega Ran took the stage and immediately brought hype to everyone in the audience with upbeat lyrics and witty banter with the intimate crowd in between songs. Inspired by his new role as a father to a young son, Mega Ran recently released the Buddy’s Magic Toy Box album. 

“I facetimed my kid today and he wanted to make sure people in Baltimore—I know we love crabs and all the cool things y’all eat—he wanted to make sure you’re eating your fruit,” Mega Ran told the crowd, polling for crowd favorite fruits and performing the iconic “Gimme the Fruit!” inspired by the Notorious B.I.G’s “Gimme the Loot.” 

Mega Ran’s childhood love for video games inspired his lyrics growing up, leading to the opportunity to perform a song for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle’s Mutant Revenge” soundtrack. He also performed songs emphasizing the power of togetherness with raised fists from the crowd and gathered the audience in a big circle to riff of the audience names’, demonstrating his incredibly quick wit and friendly demeanor. 

Up next was beloved rock band Starbenders, who formed in 2013 out of Atlanta, Georgia. Their stage presence was insane and alluring with incredible vocals from frontwoman Kimi Shelter, explosive power from drummer Qi Wei, guitarist Kriss Tokaji, and brilliant bassist Aaron Lecesne. 

I didn’t realize I recognized the band until their performance of my throwback songs “Cover Me.” Their live performance strongly resonated with me, especially the chorus’s lyrics “die for one another / feel it in my bones / cover me,” which bonded the crowd together. I also discovered a new favorite in the band’s performance of “Cherry Wine” and the band’s newest single “Tokyo.” The band hung out by the merch table after their set and were incredibly down-to-earth and kind. 

Finally, the Harbinger’s voice came on to tell the story of the headlining act Magic Sword, whose music tells the tale of the Three Immortals: The Keeper of the Magic Sword in red, who guards the powerful key for the chosen one who will one day unleash its true power, on the keyboard; The Seer of all in blue, with a proclivity for uncovering the truth, on the guitar; and The Weaver of hearts and minds in yellow, guiding the keeper, on the drums. 

The trio perform in lit-up masks and brilliant show lights, masking their true identities. The EDM music tells a brilliant story without the need for lyrics, and you know the show is good when the keyboard takes a break to unleash a glowing sword on the stage. There were many fans of the Sword in the audience with numerous glowing sticks waving in the crowd, dozens of magic sword shirts, and a merch line out the door at the end of the show. 

The electrifying set ended with the band’s most iconic tune, “The Face of Evil,” to close out the night. “The Face of Evil” was my first introduction to the band earlier this year, played more than once on my week Routine Orbit Sunday show. The performance was even better live; with an energy you can feel in your bones that makes you feel almost like you’re on another planet. 

Overall, the show was a fantastic first introduction to the Baltimore Soundstage, and I look forward to keeping up with the Immortals on future tour dates. And, of course, hanging their original comic book on my wall next to my stacks of CDs

photos by Eisa Abu-Sbaih ‘25