Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: Hot Mess or Hippie Heaven?

Indie music shows have a reputation for being too hipster. Walk into the 9:30 Club on any given night and both band members and audience members alike will have on thick, plastic framed glasses, impossibly tight jeans, and intense facial hair. Last night's band, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, in contrast to the usual fare, was more hippie than hipster.

The relatively new ten member band is known for its unique sound that crosses Loretta Lynn with Jefferson Airplane. In other words, psychedelic country. The band tell relatable stories of love and family. Their most famous song, Home, has an interlude where the lead singers (Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinos) recount how they realized they loved each other after Jade fell out a window. Many of their stories have a home theme. "Janglin" is about returning home after some trials:

"Well our mama’s they left us
And our daddy’s took a ride
And we walked out of the castle
And we held our head up high"

All these stories are set to a bazaar of instruments, including the sitar and ukulele that were popular with 60's psych bands. Similar to 60's psych bands, some Magnetic Zeros were also decked out in Indian garb. Alex wore a white linen blazer, which he removed halfway through, and match pants. His hair looked like a birds nest on top of his head, and his beard would have made any Nineteenth Century woodsman jealous.

The hippie look would have been fine if it didn't carry over to the presentation of the show. Not only did he kind of look Christ-like, Alex had too much of a Messianic thing going on. He walked into the crowd three times. The last time was too close for comfort. He also dictated many aphorisms from the stage in between songs. Aphorisms about dying and such and how we should all love each other.

Jade was also a little too happy. As in so busy being happy she didn't show up for the first part of the show. She struck me as the manic pixie dream girl type. In addition to having a pixie haircut, she literally bounced around the stage, and seemed to be that person who the band has to put up with every night but always ultimately forgives. Aaron Embry (the pianist), who technically opened for the larger band, could barely do a complete set because Jade was so late. The last straw to Jade's behavior was during "Home." The audience was completely ready for the song by then and started getting excited from the first whistled notes. But then Jade went and messed up the lyrics to the second verse.

Unfortunately, my final memory of the show was ruined by Alex's insistence that everyone get on the floor for the last song. Yeah..the beer floor of the standing room only 9:30 club. This was difficult on many levels.

On balance, it was one of the least enjoyable, but more eventful concert experiences of the year thus far. If it wasn't for Gare's snarky presence, it would not have been fun.

She & Him Delight at 9:30 Club

The most memorable part of the She & Him show at the 9:30 Club last Wednesday occurred before Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward got on stage. Arriving around 9, for a slated 9:30 start-time, a few friends and I tried to squeeze our way to the front. We attributed the early packed-ness to the non-hipsterness of the crowd. When we finally found a spot to stand, two angry couples standing near us confronted us for encroaching on their territory. "We've been here since 7:30," one girl protested. An argument over who loved Zooey more then ensued. We stayed put in the end.

She & Him took the stage on time. Deschanel and Ward were joined by three musicians and The Chapin Sisters, their back up singers. Known for singing cute renditions of Sixties' songs in a lilting, breathy voice, Deschanel sounded much throatier live. She sang the first few songs with a deeper voice than I expected, and furrowed brows, as if she were really concentrating on the lyrics and hitting her tambourine at the right time. But maybe it was just to make sure the mix was right. The sound was definitely set to accentuate Zooey's voice, which I appreciated since She & Him's songs tell stories of love lost and found.

Deschanel and a Chapin sister jumped up and down in the background to Ward's solo riffs. Since it felt like 90 degrees in the packed 9:30 Club, I was impressed by their energy. In the middle of their set, Ward and Deschanel did a few acoustic songs alone, including a Joni Mitchell cover "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio," and a brand new cover of the Beach Boys' "Wouldn't It Be Nice."

The main highlight was seeing M. Ward take a center stage from time to time in contrast to his more muted presence on either of their two albums, Volume I and Volume II. In addition to the solo musical interludes, Ward also had a mike set up on stage left for his few solo lines, like in "Rave On" and "You've Really Got a Hold on Me."

Though there were a few mistakes scattered about--Deschanel singing an extra bar, or coming in too early -- it was a fun show overall. Moreover, this is only She & Him's first headlining tour in the two years since their first album came out. If Ward and Deschanel already work so well together on stage, I look forward to Volume III and another tour.

New Pornographers' Second Night in DC

How meta: I am writing about the New Pornographers concert that I attended last night while listening to a recording of it via NPR. (Being in attendance at an NPR recorded show is a big source of pride for me). Listening to the stream, I am reminded of both the perks and disappointments of last night's performance.

The New Pornographers is a large band that depends on the intricate coordination of eight individuals for a coherent sound. They have three vocalists (Neko Case, AC Newman who also plays guitar, Dan Bejar), a drummer (Kurt Dahle), two keyboarders (Kathryn Calder, Blaine Thurier), a bassist (John Collins), and a cellist (Todd Fancey). They spread out on 9:30 Club's stage in an elegant formation, with five members in front, and the bassist, cellist, and drummer in back. Unfortunately, this smooth formation did not lead to a smooth sound.

Though the New Pornographers is known for its music more than its lyrics, they are also known for the idiosyncratic voices of Neko Case and Dan Bejar. Last night's performance failed to highlight their vocals, as they were kind of drowned out by the drums and guitars. At times, Neko also sounded awkwardly straining. I spent the evening chiming in with the chorus of songs I knew but distracted by songs I didn't. However, the recording captures everyone's voices beautifully. I wonder if the mix for the live performance was purposely configured in a certain way to play down the voices live since they are miked for the recording.

At the same time, NPR's stream also captures the band's banter, that is much better experienced live. Having seen Neko Case on her solo tour last year, I was eager to see how far she's take a joke this time. It all started when AC Newman said "Did you know DC's our favorite city? I said it on Pitchfork...Pitchfork Media. Have you heard of it?"

Neko Case quipped, "Oh you mean those people who hate music?"

"I remember on the Mass Romantic tour when I got an interview with Pitchfork and it was like this seventeen year old kid who we had to sneak in to our show," Newman continued.

"I breastfed him for two years. Yeah we dated a bit. I breastfed him from 17 to 19. That's why he's so strong. He looks like a minotaur." The crowd went wild. "My milk's strong shit. But I'm dried up now."

On the contrary, Neko's actually as voluptuous as ever, even in pajama-type attire last night.

The band gamely tried an old song from Mass Romantic, which they hadn't played in a while. Though they were poorly rehearsed, the audience clearly appreciate this peek into NP rehearsals. Finally, the encore saw the New Pornographers go out with a flourish as they played "Electric Version" with the Guitar Hero version of it projected in the background.

All good music acts seem to come to DC at once. Hence the fortnight in March/April when DC greeted Spoon, Shearwater, Woods, Real Estate, The xx, Yeasayer, and Vampire Weekend. Though the month of June can't top that, it got off to a good start with appearances by The National at DAR Constitution Hall on June 6, and Broken Bells at the 9:30 Club on June 7.

The first time I saw The National, it was at the smaller Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. The audience communed with the band as Matt Berninger told one story of heartbreak after another. His longing, apathy, and embarrassment--"I want to hurry home to you/put on a slow, dumb show for you"--became our longing, apathy, and embarrassment. Since Berninger's only instrument is his baritone voice, he sort of mashes the fists of his hands together to keep beat. This motion, coupled with his tendency to close his eyes, gives off an air of true anguish.

Turns out, this experience of communing with The National carries over to even seated, larger venues known for their poor acoustics, such as the Constitution Hall. First, the Antlers opened with anguished renditions of a few songs from their album, Hospice, which tracks a young girl's progression with cancer. The Antlers sounded more angry than melancholy as their music bounced off the Hall's walls. They did end their set with a spectacular version of "Two." "And no one paid attention to you when you stopped eating. 'Eighty-seven pounds and this all bears repeating," they sang their final lyrics and segued into several minutes of impassioned riffs.

After a short intermission, The National took the stage with "Runaway," a number from their new album, High Violet. Similar to their previous works, High Violet explores intimacies gone awry, and the sadness of middle-American male life. Berninger's deep voice and profound lyrics probably saves the band from being labeled emo. The band followed "Runaway" with "Mistaken for Strangers" - one of their biggest hits from Boxer. It's easy to see why. The lyrics are accessible, yet coy:

"You have to do it running but you do everything that they ask you to
cause you don’t mind seeing yourself in a picture
as long as you look faraway, as long as you look removed"

The music also engages, with a hearty blend of strong beats and horns. The set basically continued in this pattern: new song, followed by one or two old favorites, followed by new song, for the entire set. A set of at least 22(!) songs. Towards the end of the show, Matt Berninger jumped off the stage and marched into the crowds singing "Abel," enabling physical communing. Just when I thought he couldn't top that, he climbed into the boxes of the venue during the encore to "Mr. November," a DC appropriate song about politicians.

After the spectacular show, I had twenty-four hours to wind down until Monday night's Broken Bells gig at the 9:30 Club. Broken Bells has been criticized as "a great-in-theory but mediocre-in-execution collaboration between Danger Mouse and the Shins' James Mercer." Mediocre in creativity, maybe, but not in enjoyment factor. Though it's hard to tell the songs apart when listening to their eponymous first album straight through, one can't help but tap their feet along. The album is aurally interesting when compared to other albums; just not internally when comparing songs to each other. True to their name, they sprinkle their songs with bells at random moments.

The entire concert experience last night was very light and summery. The Morning Benders, a Californian band with a very west coast sound kicked the night off. They were chatty, asking the audience to yell out our choice between "Loose Change" and "Hand Me Downs." We chose "Hand Me Downs." They closed with an intimate version of "Excuses," where Chris Chu, the singer, took his mike off its stand and literally crooned at us to the lush.

"And I made an excuse
You found another way to tell the truth
I put no one else above us
We'll still be best friends when it all turns to dust."

I felt like I was in the 50's.

I missed Broken Bells' opening song, but I'm pretty sure they played through their entire album. Since that's only a forty minute record, the band supplemented it with some terrific, totally non-hipster covers. They played "Crimson and Clover" and "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" among others. Though Danger Mouse did not look happy to be there, the rest of the band rocked. All their songs were set to a projected background of images that made it look like the band was playing to a background of a film of their concert. Craaaazzyyy.