all words: Nina Slesinger
all photos: Priscilla Ledesma from an earlier time
There were a few early indications that Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros's set Tuesday night would be a bit sloppy. The opening act, which itself was just a amalgamation of the Magnetic Zeros under the moniker "We Are Each Other," was forty minutes late to get started because female vocalist Jade Castrinos was nowhere to be found and without a cell phone. Led by earnest and adorable pianist Aaron Embry, the group rattled off a few tunes, but all seemed quickly thrown together and I doubt that they even agreed on a set list before walking on stage. Pauses between songs were long and only Embry attempted to cheer up a crowd that was miffed because of the delay. Embry introduced one song as being about the gulf crisis, noting, "It's good to make music about things that make you upset, I guess."
The song sounded like the start of something good, but as with his proclamation about songwriting, it was half-baked and lacked commitment from the rest of the band. Other songs showcased in the short set also showed potential--perhaps with more concentrated work they could grow from just seeds to fully formed works. Unfortunately, concentrated work seems unlikely with a group where, when the aforementioned late female vocalist finally arrives on stage during a song, select members stop to give her hugs and clap with joy; or a sound mishap leads to Embry insisting they stop playing the song until he can hear an explanation for what happened. While such earnest curiosity and exuberance can be endearing, in this 40-minute late opening set it was just annoying. That said, it hurts to knock Aaron Embry, him being the only one making an effort with the audience or worth watching.
We Are Each Other finished it's brief set at around 9:30, and while they insisted it would be a very short break before they came back on stage as the Magnetic Zeros, it was at least a half hour before those exact same members came back on stage to play the exact same instruments. Maybe I just don't know the inner workings of setting up sound or whatnot, but if everything is already out, and had just been used, shouldn't there be minimal set-up time between sets? When the band came on stage to headline, they explained that they thought their set was an hour later than the actual time. Again, Embry was the only one who seemed apologetic or eager to please.
As the band launched into "Janglin," Castrinos seemed lost in her own world, smiling and spinning like a 5-year-old girl trying on her mother's dresses. Frontman Alex Ebert stalked and swayed in white pants, a red scarf, and a white blazer that seemed beaten and shredded by scissors rather than wear. All other band members looked entirely disinterested, especially the Lauren Conrad look-alike accordion player.
"Janglin'," which serves as sort of a theme song for the group, helped at least slightly redeem the band for their previous offenses. The crowd seemed entirely devoted to the messianic Edward Sharpe character Ebert inhabits on stage. Despite the band being the kind that has one song that stands out over the rest (the fantastic "Home"), the crowd seemed to know all the words to every deeper cut from the Magnetic Zeros's debut album, "Up From Below."
After "Janglin,'" Ebert turned to his band and said, "How about 40?" eliciting shrieks from those near enough to hear him. "40 Day Dream" was a highlight of the show for me. How could it not be? The sweeping chorus was built to be hummed and yelled as a crowd. Ebert entered the crowd and had his adoring disciples sing the last part of the song. Crawling back on stage, he mumbled into the microphone: "I'm covered in spit and sweat and someone spilled beer on my back. I feel much better." It marked the first of many times Ebert would enter the audience during the show. He jumped down again later and stuck his head through a kid's shirt so that they looked like conjoined yet fraternal twins. The kid looked bewildered. The frequency and intimacy of his interaction with the crowd did help lend the show and urgency and in-the-moment tone it had been lacking.
"Up From Below" was another highlight of the set, again for its sing-along chorus. Next came "Black Water," which Ebert introduced with a convoluted tirade about backwater being ink and dead wood being paper and Native Americans and the government and blah blah blah. As with the opening set, the pauses between sets were often too long, whether to ramble about Inception ("maybe this is a dream within a dream"), or to spend too much time talking about the graffiti on a wall nearby ("It said Be Not Afraid! Which is great!" "Well, sometimes you should be afraid." "Well…" etc etc etc).
The band played "Home," which was fantastic and fun because it is a fantastic and fun song. I only wish they had kept the conversational interlude in tact rather than just rambling. They closed the set with "Om Nashi Me."
The two song encore was closed with "Brother," for which Ebert walked into the center of the club and requested that everything in the venue sit down. All the willing and able complied, which not only gave the finale a nice vibe, but just looked darn cool.
The Magnetic Zero's gave a fun and energetic live show, albeit a slightly sloppy and quite uneven one.
Previously in Live DC:
- 5/22: Photos: Summer Camp takes the "Ladies of Town" Drag Show
- 5/22: LiveDC: Penguin Prison & Class Actress @ RNR Hotel
- 5/21: LiveDC: James Morrison @ 930 Club
- 5/21: Photos: Que Sera L'Anniversaire @ Napoleon
- 5/21: LiveDC: La Sera/ Beach Week @ Red Palace
- 5/21: LiveDC: The Black Keys & Arctic Monkeys @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
- 5/17: Gay Best Weekend Bets: Avengers Edition
- 5/17: LiveDC: Here We Go Magic @ Black Cat
- 5/17: LiveDC: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros/ Fool's Gold @ 930 Club
- 5/16: LiveDC: Mark Lanegan @ 930 Club
God loves a cheerful giver.
Ugh. Hippies are so boring.
This band grosses me out. The "telling the whole audience to sit down" thing was only ever funny when Colin Meloy of The Decemberists used to do it to festival crowds circa 2005.
"Home" fucking hurts my soul. What a trite piece of garbage. The fake-rural vibe that thing tries to create is borderline offensive.
Also, this is an "indie rock band" for people who just became aware that those existed
Look! Silly clothes! Jangly guitars! Self-referential lyrics! Assorted non-standard/orchestral instruments! Lots of people on stage! "Energy!"
They really are the ass-end of the 00s.
over it.
Jade used to be an american apparel model and the accordian player went to ucla and is on the tv show greek. But if you close your eyes real tight you can pretend they all grew up together on a commune in northern california.
This was a very sloppy show with few redeeming moments.
Douche bags. Oh, no I wasn't talking about the band, just everyone who left a comment before me. Go write for Pitchfork, or get a soul. Heartless people dislike this band.
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