live: edward sharpe & the magnetic zeros

At New York’s Webster Hall last Friday night, there were few moments when the floor wasn’t shaking. The messianic, sorta-psychedelic folk collective Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros knows how to get a crowd moving — and swaying, singing, sometimes even crying. You’ve probably heard the song “Home,” the whistle-laden, syrupy-sweet love anthem from the band’s 2009 debut, Up From Below, that proclaims, “Home is whenever I’m with you.” It’s an amazing song, and I’ll admit I was a little disappointed when I first heard the album in full because I didn’t think most of the other tracks were quite as good. I heard their live shows were great — and they sold out three of them, at sizable New York venues — so I had to see what the fuss was about.

For the uninitiated: No one in the band is actually named Edward Sharpe; rather, he’s a character that frontman Alex Ebert (formerly of Ima Robot) created after breaking up with his girlfriend and joining AA. Sharpe was brought to earth to heal and save mankind, so Ebert and co. have essentially made it their mission to do the same. From the variety of instruments (guitars, bass, keyboards, accordion, etc.), size of the band (11 members), enormous, glorious, choruses, and hippie-lovefest lyrics, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros embody equal parts Arcade Fire, Polyphonic Spree, and Hair. OK, OK, I know that sounds a little cult-ish, but consider me converted.

The group entered the stage amid bubbles and opened with their album’s first track, “40 Day Dream,” a soulful tune in which Ebert proclaims, “I know I’m sleepin’ ’cause this dream’s too amazing.” Ebert performed barefoot, and his shirt didn’t last past the third song. And despite the size of the venue (1500 capacity), the band made it seem a lot more intimate. Ebert jumped down into the crowd at least three or four times throughout the set to let fans sing, touch their faces, and share their sweat. And I’ve never seen a rock-show crowd so set on touching the people on stage, but I started to think maybe fans were hoping the band’s energy will rub off on them.

“Home” made its appearance near the middle of the show, and this time Ebert was joined in the crowd with vocalist and band co-founder Jade Castrinos, whose twangy alto begins the song with, “Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my ma and pa.” On the stage, Castrinos swayed back and forth, often with her eyes shut and always with a sly smile as she and Ebert traded vocals. Every song was a celebration, and the performance was dependent on the crowd as much as the band.

Naturally, the show ended with Ebert joining the crowd again, but this time he prompted fans to sit in a circle around him and his guitar (it was more like a sea) as he performed the acoustic song “Brother.” When he finished, he stayed in the crowd to meet and take photos with fans and give hugs. I’m not sure if their shows will have the same effect in an even bigger venue, one with a barricade separating the stage from the crowd, but they’re taking full advantage of the intimacy as long as they can.