There is nothing like a concert. The excitement you get when you see the roadies setting up the equipment on stage, perhaps a glance at one of the band members, even the (usually) annoying opening band makes you want to jump up and down. This is how I feel every time I’m about to see a band that I love onstage.
However, when you’ve just casually listened to an album and decide to see them in concert—beware, it may turn out to be the best concert of your life.
I first saw Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros at
Coachella in Indio, CA. I was not expecting much, maybe some good sing-along songs and nothing else, but the minute the band started, I was enraptured and it turned out to be the most memorable concert I’ve ever attended. So of course I had to see them again to make sure I was not crazy.
Playing in New York City the same time I happened to be there was Edward Sharpe, and of course I had to go. I begged my best friend to go with me and reluctantly she agreed not knowing any of their songs. The moment we stepped into Webster Hall, my heart started pounding, I was probably ready to piss my pants with excitement, but I had to keep it cool especially because I have a mad crush on the trumpet player, Stewart Cole (albeit being 10 years my senior). The opening band was a blur because I was searching for any hint of the band anywhere. Finally, when the band shuffled off, band members of Edward Sharpe casuall
y came on stage tuning up their instruments and what not I was dying inside, ready for them to begin.
Alexander Ebert (lead singer) steps on stage and the sold-out audience starts screaming. Everyone loves him. He is the peace-loving, non-murderous, charismatic Charlie Manson figure. Long, dirty hippie hair tied up on the top of his head, along with a white jacket and white pants that he wears at every concert with his red scarf, he begins to sing.
(Alexander Ebert)
40 Day Dream starts the set off and immediately everyone is focused on the band, singing loudly along with him. He jumps around the stage and starts singing to certain people in the audience. Being in the third row, we made instant eye contact and I’m pretty sure I melted right away, everyone was sticking their hands out for him to touch like he was a god or something. Luckily, I was one of the hands he touched and I turned to my friend and squealed like a tween. The band proceeded to play their hit songs such as Up From Below, Janglin, Carries On, I Come In Please, Black Water, Desert Song, and Om Nashi Me. The second the whistling started, everyone knew, they started playing Home and the crowd went crazy. The audience started jumping up and down, hands in the air, screaming the words to the song. Alexander and Jade stepped into the audience and created the most personal experience for everyone there that night.
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros may be the greatest live band. They are always in sync, they play with such passion, and they exude such charisma that you feel apart of their 12 band member family. You never want Alexander to stop singing, or the band to stop playing. You wish you could live your life in an Edward Sharpe concert. They are all about love, and really, us college students need a lot of love.
