The recently released Realism is the Magnetic Fields’ 10th studio album and the final installment of the synth-free trilogy that commenced with 2004’s i. Don’t let a lack of familiarity with the new record keep you from the band’s Town Hall shows. With their wryly literate lyrics and familiar melodies, Stephin Merritt compositions—which on Realism aim for a prim Judy Collins–y folksiness—are dazzling on first listen. (Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, www.ticketmaster.com. 8 pm, $27.50–$30, all ages.)

David Schmader—former weed columnist and Stranger associate editor—is the author of the solo plays Straight and Letter to Axl, which he’s performed in Seattle and across the US. His latest...