Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros graced the stage for an audience more than ready to accept them.
Playing at the Boulder Theater Tuesday night, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros played at an intimate venue as audience members stood shoulder to shoulder, acting as one large entity with no space in between them.
The theater stage turned out to be just big enough to fit all the band members and all their instruments onstage. This was quite an impressive feat, with two drum kits, multiple guitars, multiple keyboards, an accordion and room for the lead singers to prance around the stage throughout the night.
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros preform at the Boulder Theater on Tuesday. (CU Independent/David Zimmerman)
The band casually walked out onto the stage, no chanting from the crowd needed, with their lead singer, Alexander Elbert, wearing an all-white, linen suit, his long brown hair pinned on top of his head and a flower in his jacket pocket that he received from an audience member early in the show. Jade Castrinos, another singer for the band, wore a floor length, rainbow stripped dress. A sea of iPhones suddenly shot up above the crowd, along with puffs of smoke coming from almost every area of the audience while the band jumped quickly into their set list, the crowd jumping right along with arms up in the air.
One of the most unique and refreshing aspects of an Edward Sharpe concert is the band’s interaction with the audience. One of the most memorable parts of the show happened when Elbert and Castrinos were wishing some audience members a “happy birthday” and even inviting the birthday boys and girls to join them on stage. In a matter of seconds, the stage was filled to the edge with audience members dancing around and basking in the moment, along with security most likely on the verge of tears. Later in the night, an audience member joined Alexander onstage, serenading the crowd with Alexander’s arm draped around him the whole time.
The set list was unplanned with a sometimes awkward pause in-between songs while the band chose the song to be played next. The anything-could-happen set list was an interesting technique, leaving the band with the responsibility of reading the audience to determine what they wanted, though the slow pace of choosing a song often spread a disorienting and bored vibe among the crowd. But in the end, who could be bored for long looking at this band? Elbert adorned a pair of purple sunglasses at one point in the show. And who could be bored in the crowd when there was non-stop dancing and jumping around?
The true talent of this band comes from their knowledge that people just want music with a heavy beat that they can move and dance to. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros did not forget this fact throughout the whole concert. When they performed “If You Wanna,” which was previously unrecorded, the show took on a child-like vibe. Elbert introduced the song as one for “children like us.” Halfway through the song, all the band members abandoned their instruments and danced across the stage in sync with the audience.
Towards the end of the show, Elbert asked the audience, “Is there a curfew here, or are we good?” only to be answered by a slew of cheers.
When the band played their most famous song, “Home,” the audience was set on fire. There wasn’t a still body in the house. Every single audience member was singing along with Elbert and Castrinos. Almost as soon as the band started the song, a couple from the audience got up on stage and were dancing and singing the song to each other. Security came out on stage, but Elbert let them stay. He handed the couple microphones and they continued to sing the song to each other, ending in a kiss and crowd-surfing.
The interaction with the audience electrified the experience and decreased that audience-performer separation that can sometimes kill the energy of a show. And this band performing live does not disappoint, bringing talent and enthusiasm to the stage that translates to the audience, making for a one-of-a-kind night that no one that was there will soon forget.
Video Courtesy of The Magnetic Zeros
Contact CUI Entertainment Staff Writer Ellie Patterson at Elizabeth.n.patterson@colorado.edu.
