Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros w/ Preservation Hall
Marymoor Park, Seattle, WA
06.16.16
Sloped, blanket-strewn grounds, swaying crowds, joyful music. What more could you ask for? Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros graced the stage of Marymoor Park for a memorable performance.
The show started with “Man On Fire,” and continued to build momentum from there. Charismatic lead singer, Alex Ebert, played around with the crowd as a fan handed him a Polaroid camera. He took some shots of fellow band mates on stage and passed the camera around. The Polaroids handed back to her must be the ultimate concert keepsake. A GoPro camera was also passed along to the front so Ebert again documented some exclusive footage – this time a close up of him singing.
The entire show maintained this type of high energy connectivity with fans, making concert-goers involved in the experience instead of just being performed to. Ebert even went so far as to say, “Feel free to call out songs that you want to hear. We have been running the show so far.” The requests flooded in. Ebert teased his way around the edge of the stage, spinning, dancing and interacting with fans before he took the plunge and leapt into the crowd. A dance circle formed instantaneously around him as he danced along with fans to the verse.
The openers Preservation Hall Jazz Band joined Edward Sharpe for an extra special, extended version of “I don’t want to pray.” The stage housed, at minimum, an impressive 14 musicians. If that wasn’t enough, trying for the very first time, a few fans were selected from the crowd to sing some of the verses. The result was a young fan with professional sounding vocals full of soulful, rock, big-band sound almost similar to the Alabama Shakes.
The evening was a blend of old favorites and songs from their latest album, PersonaA. The newer songs had the familiar, light hearted beat yet with a slightly psychedelic sound that was reminiscent of the Beatles.
Aware of the night coming to a close, Ebert mentioned that 19 minutes remained until the looming curfew set in. It was clear they wanted to keep the show going. It continued slowly, Ebert started to whistle “Home.” People sitting on their blankets jumped up to run to the pit for what could have been their main reason for coming to the show that night. It is just one of those undeniably feel-good, dance-y songs. And the band did a number on it. Starting with few and subtle instruments, the crowd chanted all the words up to the first chorus when Ebert and the band joined in. The effect was sensational – building from a quiet echo to loud energy – it was goose bump-inducing.
During the typical speaking interlude portion of the song – between former singer Jade Castrinos and Ebert – he used the moment to encourage someone in the crowd to share a story. He spun around and pointed at a random: “My Mom took me to this concert for my 21st birthday! She just beat cancer and is going to bike in an upcoming race. I Love my mom so much! I’m so proud of her!” exclaimed the excited fan that Ebert choose. Cue a unanimous “Awwww,” cheers of congratulations, happy birthday wishes, and hugs. Such a great way to end a show, that like most concerts ended earlier than the fans were ready for.
Review by Allie Leaf
Photos by Logan Westom & Allie Leaf
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
