Concert Stories #45: Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros

Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros

Summerfest

July 7, 2011

Age 28

Ugh.

It's not good when you start the story like that.

Let me backup though before you stop reading, this concert from Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros was not horrifying and not completely awful, it was just OK mixed with “What was the point of this?” and disappointment.  

Like A LOT of other people at the time, I was hooked on the song "Home" from the band's first album Up from Below, but I also thoroughly enjoyed the entire album.  It was different, fun, and an all-around solid album with a great retro sound to it. 

The band was playing one of the free stages during Summerfest and I met up with my friend Shannon and her husband Eric, who were also excited to check out the band.  Being it was a free stage and we didn’t get there super early, we were relegated to the back of the venue.  This was not a big deal, once a band comes out everyone pretty much stands on the bleachers, regardless were you are, so sight is always sort of an issue at the free stages (given how drunk the crowds are though this does not seem to bother many).

I cannot seem to recall to who opened that night, for some reason I think I remember Henry Winkler (aka “The Fonz”) being there.  The first thing I remember about seeing Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros is that there were a lot of people in the band and the stage looked pretty crowded.  Naturally, the crowd wanted to hear “Home” but that song was going to be left for the closing song given its popularity.  Now I liked their album Up from Below and was excited to hear some of their other great songs, like my favorites “40 Day Dream” or “Kisses Over Babylon” but the issue I take with this concert was that the band was so sloppy.  It was incredibly difficult to distinguish between the songs and/or understand the words coming out of Edward Sharpe’s mouth.  The tempos of multiple songs were changed, really slowing some of them down, making it hard to sing along.  Making things even more frustrating, it was hard to tell if this was done intentionally, if the band was having issues, or if Sharpe was on something.  Part of me really believed it was on Sharpe but part of me also felt that it could have been that he was playing up a certain type of image.  Either way, it made for an incredibly frustrating night.  We waited for “Home” to play, which was either the last song or second to last song, and again were disappointed when the tempo was changed. You could hear the crowd struggling to match up with the band’s rhythm.  As soon as the song ended we were out.

I still listen to Up from Below but I have not attempted to listen to any new music from Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros since.  I do not doubt that they have continued to make great music and I should check it out and give it a chance, but seeing them live was such a disappointment that I really have had no urge to.  This was by far one of the top five disappointing live performances I have witnessed. 

One other thing I would like to share, the original version of “Home” is great, but please check out the RAC Mix from the 2011 Reading Festival, it’s way better in my opinion.