Show: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Date: May 4, 2012
Venue: Greek Theatre
City: Los Angeles, CA
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Photos by Nicolas Bates
Written by Dan Sinclair
The guy next to me is the biggest Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros fan and has early on apologized to me, for he’ll be singing along to every song. I, of course, tell him that no apology is necessary, as this is a concert after all. But as I scan the thousands of others in attendance tonight on this beautiful May evening at the Greek Theatre, I wonder how many others share his enthusiasm. Much of the crowd is dressed their best, looking more like they’re ready for the clubs in West Hollywood than a live music venue. They seem more concerned with chugging $12 beers and tagging themselves on Facebook than dancing or singing. But among the hundreds of colognes and perfumes in the air, a distinct smell of marijuana rises. Looks like my friend will not be dancing alone, as the hippies will surely join him.
The band takes stage, much to the crowd’s delight, playing their guitars, basses, violins, accordions, organs, keyboards, triangles, horns and drums. Whistling is heard and the fans to my left start going crazy as frontman Alex Ebert walks down the aisle next to me, dressed in a white suit and t-shirt, slowly making his way to the stage.
After the intro chant of, “Sing a song! Sing a song!” the band starts off with “40-Day Dream.” My friend to the left is not alone as everyone sings along. “Ah-aaaaah, it’s the magical mystery kind!” Alex thanks us for singing along: “You guys make the motherfucking world sing.” He then apologizes to a certain member of the audience for his language with, “Sorry, I know my mom’s here right now.”
But Alex is not the only one with family members in attendance. Jade Castrinos, the other singer dressed in all white, says, “Dad, I can’t see you but I know you’re out there and I love you,” before trading her tambourine in for an acoustic guitar. With the spotlight on her, she then belts out “Fiya Wata.” When the rest of the band kicks in, I start to notice that although there are so many instruments being played, I can only hear bass, guitar and drums. Check the levels, Greek Theatre.
Kids arrive in the row directly behind me during “Man on Fire.” The little girl screams, “Daddy, I want water!” while Daddy ignores her and jokes about traffic. With the funky green stuff in the air, I wonder how long it will take for the little girl to start craving snacks instead. Alex goes back into the crowd and dances with some lucky girl in the middle section as hundreds of others form a circle around them and clap along. “I’m a man on fire walking down your street. Want the whole damn world come and dance with me.”
The next song they play is “Janglin’,” which is the best use of “mmm-bop” since Hanson. I’m happy to hear some xylophone before Alex stops the music to check out the super moon in the sky. “Check out the moon! Wow!” We all say, “Wow,” though, in all honesty, from my seat the moon doesn’t look too super — it’s pretty far away and small. Maybe a few more whiffs of the air there, and I would’ve gotten it.
Some of the other highlights where when guitar player Christian Letts took the lead in the ultra-mellow “Child” and the seventies-sounding “Mayla.” At one point there was a 20-minute long jam session which I’m not sure was three songs or just one long one. How the fuck did I end up at a Phish show? Luckily, they followed up the jam session with their hit single “Home,” which brought the crowd back to life, effecting the same level of energy not felt since the first song.
By the end of the show, I was impressed that super fan lived up to his promise and sang along to every song with a huge satisfied smile permanently resting on his grill. He, along with all the real Edward Sharpe fans, got what they came to see. And by the looks of the vomit on the ground, the rest of the others got their fill (and Facebook pics) as well.