With seagulls, ships, sunshine, and a gorgeous sunset, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros played to a rambunctious crowd in Buffalo, NY on June 13th for the free weekly event, Thursday at Canalside.
The forecast called for a 90 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms in Buffalo, NY the day of the free Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros concert on the outdoor stage of Canalside Harbor. And the rain came down in sideways sheets all they way from NYC to the outskirts of Buffalo, but in Buffalo it was sunny and glowing.
To say that magic surrounds this twelve-plus piece band is an understatement. The energy surging between them and their fans is intoxicating. Singer Alex Ebert greeted the crowd and acknowledged the rare sunshine in Buffalo before opening with a hoarse version of “40 Day Dream”:
“Hi, guys… Well, the sun came out, that’s for sure.”
Of “40 Day Dream” he explained, “I just woke up; so that song was terribly appropriate.”
He then heckled some bystanders asking them if they thought they were too cool for them, before stating that the band would address coolness later on in the set. That they did with a song they only perform live, “If You Wanna”, during which the audience was invited to scream and dance. With all of the screaming and freedom to move, beautiful catharses happened.
Ebert’s vocal cords quickly warmed up, and he introduced Jadie Castrinos. They sang, “That’s What’s Up”. Castrinos’ powerful, gospel, blues-inspired vocals elicited much cheering and singing along with them as she belted out, “Yeah / Love will leads us all / Love! / It is our honor / Love! / It is our all.”
The best description of Castrinos’ energy comes from the lyrics of the song, “Jade”, sung by Ebert: “We can’t help but follow / She’s Buddha, just watch her… / She sings in sounds of the hammer of God / Men all swear she’s come her to fill us with power.” As she sings and smiles and dances, Castrinos does seem to shake the heavens and the hearts of all those around her.
“I Don’t Want to Pray” highlighted the unity, spontaneity, and playfulness of the band, as each member sang or played a verse including two violin players who had just met the band and asked to play with them. Ebert told their story during the song as he sprechstimmed, ”We met these guys yesterday. They said, ‘Can I play?’ and I said, ‘Sure, come on, play…’” And play they did, without any rehearsals, delivering a mean lick during their solo in “I Don’t Want to Pray”.
A family in touring, The Magnetic Zeros have their partners and babies with them on tour. June 13th was drummer Josh Collazo’s son Max’s first birthday! He was already in bed, but the band wore birthday hats and sang “Happy Birthday” to him with the help of the crowd.
A rare treat and surprise of the evening was hearing “This Life,” one of their new songs from their upcoming album, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. Once they’d agreed to play “This Life”, Ebert introduced it, “This is a brand new song, you’ll never hear it sung this way again.” (You might find a YouTube video of it out there.)
https://soundcloud.com/edward-sharpe-mag-zeros/this-life
A fan yelled out, “Oh, this is a smooth jam right here.” It was smooth, alright, and pure as Ebert sang falsetto, baring his heart and soul and the heavens within.
Although we were standing in mud, Ebert was able to entice a large number of the crowd to sit down for their final song, “Brother” – sung for all those we’ve lost.
“Why don’t we all sit down,” asked Ebert? “It’s not really that dirty. Here’s the thing if everybody sits on someone else’s lap no one’s ass actually gets dirty. Think about it.”
He and Castrinos joined the audience and sat with about a hundred fans while the rest of the band came to sit on the edge of the stage to sing “Brother”. The stage lights lowered and we came together as if singing around a campfire.
Experiencing Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros live is soul shaking. Their performance is uplifting and personal, a ride of pure engagement, presence, and spontaneity with the audience.
They’ve got a few more dates in the States before heading off to share their magic in Europe. Catch them if you have chance.
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros playing “This Life” live at Canalside in Buffalo, NY on June 13th, 2013:
Set List
1. 40 Day Dream
2. That’s What’s Up
3. I Don’t Wanna Pray
4. Man On Fire
5. Janglin’
6. Jade
7. Child
8. Happy Birthday To You
9. Up From Below
10. Truth
11. This Life (new song)
12. If You Wanna Dance
13. Home (share your story)
14. Brother (everyone sits down)
