Music: Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros With The Giving Tree Band

On Tuesday I went to my first concert since U2 in Chicago in 2011.  It's been awhile since I went that long between concerts.

The headliner was Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.  The Wife, having never heard of them, decided not to join me.  I have to admit that I'd only heard three of their tracks but I wanted to try something new and I did like what I'd heard.

The concert was at the Stir Cove, an outside venue attached to a casino/hotel.  The venue is relatively small and is B.Y.O.C. (Bring Your Own Chair).  I arrived an hour early having misread the start time.  This gave me a wide choice as to where to sit.  I found a spot next to the sound booth facing the center of the stage and about a third of the way back.  I bought a pulled pork sandwich, homemade chips, and a soda and sat down waiting for the show to start.

The warm-up band was The Giving Tree Band, a band I'd never heard of before.  They turned out to be pretty good.  Their sound was country rock and the combination of fiddle, banjo, and mandolin hit the spot.

The Giving Tree Band

Near the end of the Giving Tree Band's set, I was sitting back and listening to the music and staring up at the hotel tower behind the stage.  Six or seven floors up I saw three ... full moons ... pressed against the window.  It didn't take long before a few others around me noticed the mooners.  I think this was the first real mooning I have ever witnessed live.  It was mildly entertaining.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros came on and they started with two tracks I recognized (40 Day Dream, and Janglin).  Over the next hour and a half they played some very cheerful, happy music that put in me a good place ending with the third song that I knew (Home).  I loved the trumpet and trombone ... both nice touches you don't usually hear in a pop band.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

About ten feet in front of me there was another solo concert goer.  He appeared to be a typical hipster with the hipster moustache, and the hipster plaid shirt, and he bought the hipster souvenir vinyl.  He stood up most of the concert and danced.  Now, I'm not much of a dancer but I know it when I see it.  This guy's bottom half pretty much moved to the rhythm of the music.  His top half, on the other hand, looked like he was pulling out his best power ranger moves swinging his arms, punching the air, and attempting some sort of mixed martial arts karate chops.  He was in his own happy little world.  If the music didn't make me smile, watching this guy "dance" definitely did.

It was a fun evening.  I really enjoyed the music I heard.  The only downside was the chill in the air - I hadn't dressed warm enough.  But the chill, and the breeze that brought  it, did nothing to dampen my long overdue evening of music.