In May, I was desperately trying to get tickets to see Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes at UCLA on May 20th, but it was sold out. I had heard so many great things about their live shows. I was bummed to miss them, but then I found out that the band would be playing a free show on May 15th at UC Santa Barbara's annual Extravaganza, a free outdoor music festival.
So, I made the long journey from Orange County up to Santa Barbara. I battled traffic the whole way there and I was stressing about missing the show. When I arrived, I had to stand in a line two blocks long just to get into the stadium where the festival was being held. Before I got to the front of the line I heard a familiar sound drifting over the heads of the crowd: the opening percussion of "40 Day Dream".
Now I was frantic. I had driven for three hours and was about to miss the show. Luckily, the festival staff decided that the line was an unnecessary formality, so we all trampled our way into the stadium. I wedged myself into the sweaty crowd and got as close to the front as possible. They played "Janglin", "Carries On" and "Home"--and then they were done. They were great, but the set was so incredibly short that I felt a bit demoralized. I wandered around the stadium in a bit of a daze trying to decide if I should stay for Chromeo, or go home. In the end, I bought an Edward Sharpe sticker and left to explore Santa Barbara for the rest of the afternoon.
I began the long ride home down the 101 in the early evening. As I was passing a VW in the left lane, I noticed that the girl in the backseat had on a hat very similar to the one Jade of Edward Sharpe had been wearing on stage... I looked again. It was Jade! And she was with Nico and Nora from the band too! I honked my horn and held up my newly-purchased sticker, and they waved back. I laughed about it on the way home feeling that the coincidence made the rest of the day's craziness worth it.
A few days later, a surprise: my craigslist plea was answered and I had a ticket to the show at UCLA! My seat turned out to be near the front at Royce Hall, and I was so excited to see a full set this time. A solid local band named Haim opened the show, followed by Francis and the Lights whose performance resulted in head-scratching confusion (and later, mockery).
But it was all about Edward Sharpe for me. I was so happy to enjoy a full set this time. The audience was full of fans who were singing along, and everyone was on their feet for the entire set. I love watching Jade and Alex sing to each as if they were the only two people in the room. If you've only heard their album, Up From Below, you have had a small taste of the infectious exuberance that Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros bring to their songs. I am still blown away that I saw them twice in one week!
Here's their set list from the UCLA show:
Janglin'
Up From Below
40 Day Dream
Carries On
Come In Please
unidentified cover song (sorry!)
Black Water
Jade
Home
Om Nashi Mi
Check in again soon for Live in 2010: Part 2!!
And to Jade, Nico and Nora, it was great to run into you!
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