Some bands are just better live. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is one of those bands.
Made up of 10 musicians, the group filled Lifestyle Communities Pavilion Wednesday night with its unique sound that came off much better in person.
It seemed people of all ages and walks of life attended the sold out show. I stood between a 12-year-old boy with glasses and a couple who looked to be in their 60s and pulled out a joint right before Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros took the stage after opening act He’s My Brother She’s My Sister.
That band is most definitely going places.
I was most impressed by He’s My Brother She’s My Sister’s drummer, Lauren Brown, for busting out her tap shoes during the performance. It could not have been more unexpected, yet it was awesome.
It had a funky folk sound that complimented Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros well, which opened up its performance with “40 Day Dream.”
I could feel the floor vibrate beneath my feet as the audience bounced around to the band’s first song.
After slowing the mood down with “Awake My Body,” the show turned to a 20-minute instrumental break, something that was interesting and fun to watch as lead singer Edward Sharpe made his way around the group.
Each musician played his or her own two to three-minute solo, but after about 10 minutes, it was clear the audience was getting bored of display and wanted something to sing along to.
The band got the crowd going again with “I Don’t Wanna Pray,” a song off its newest album “Here,” which released Tuesday.
You could also feel the energy when the group played “Janglin,” a song that was made famous in a Ford Fiesta commercial in 2010.
With energy high and the crowd back to jumping around, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros closed, appropriately, with its 2009 hit song, “Home.”
It was so heartwarming to hear live, that I called my mother in New York to simply yell the word “home” into my phone, then held it in the air, making a sad attempt for her to hear the song too.
Sharpe warned the crowd at the beginning of the performance, “I’m not going to be satisfied until you’re swimming in each other’s blood.”
While I’m not sure about swimming in blood, the audience was definitely swimming in sweat after the concert.
