It’s not always easy to get on board with who Rolling Stone dubs as an Artist to Watch, no make no mistake that Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros more than live up to all the hype surrounding their raucous and friendly alt rock, selling out shows across the country. I’d been spinning their debut record Up From Below for weeks and was amped to see how their eclectic sound translates live.

Openers Fool’s Gold, comprised of much of Foreign Born, wholly impressed with their bouncy groove rock that incorporates elements of African soul, tropicalia, ’80s dance jams and Hebrew to create a glorious sound scape perfect for partying to. It’s hard to imagine that the collective’s front man Luke Top is a paralegal by day. The band nailed a hot set gearing up the sold out house for the main act

The First Unitarian Church isn’t a huge venue; sure it holds a hell of a lot of music lovers, but it’s by no means a large venue. Rather, it’s a dark, unventilated church basement that has continuously put on some of Philadelphia’s greatest shows for years. I had myself convinced that the show was at Johnny Brenda’s — how could a ten piece band perform on the Church’s stage? Especially one with the wild amounts of energy that Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is known for.

When a ragtag looking bunch took to the stage, my hopes of an elaborately dressed ensemble were dashed, but nothing about their stage presence was lacking. Their energy, which was mirrored by the crowd, rivals only that of the couple shows I’ve seen Tilly and the Wall perform at the Church. ES&TMZ opened with their bounciest tunes, whipping the crowd into a cheering frenzy for each song that followed the one before it. Front man Alex Ebert nailed every note, sounding just as polished as on the record. Pixie-ish front woman counterpart Jade Castrinos‘ are transfixing and beautiful; she surely would have stolen the show if her mic had been turned up slightly.

What was a show stopped was the band’s performance of crowd [and my personal] favorite “Home.” Alex and Jade stared into each other’s eyes, belted out the love song with vigor and ad-libbed the spoken word bridge that on the CD recounts when Alex fell “deep, deeply in love” with Jade. While the below video of the Magnetic Zeros at the NPR offices in DC doesn’t do their on-stage show justice, catch a glimpse of what you missed if you couldn’t snag tickets to the hottest event in Philadelphia this past Sunday night.

If you miss Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros when they head your way, I am sorry for and disappointed in you in advance. You will not have [and haven't had] a better time at a concert this year.

Tour Dates:
Nov 21 - Pearl Street Downstairs / Northampton, Ma.
Nov 22 – Metronome / Burlington
Nov 23 – Cafe Campus / Montreal
Nov 24 – El Mocambo Club / Toronto
Nov 25 - El Macambo Club / Toronto
Nov 27 – Lincoln Hall / Chicago
Nov 28 – High Noon Saloon / Madison
Nov 29 – The Varsity Theater / Minneapolis
Dec 01 – Boulder Theater / Boulder
Dec 02 - Sheridan Opera House / Telluride, Co.
Dec 04 – The Bell Tower / Pullman, Wa.
Dec 05 – Neumos / Seattle
Dec 08 – The Biltmore Cabaret / Vancouver
Dec 09 - Doug Fir Lounge / Portland, Or.
Dec 10 – WOW Hall / Eugene, Or.
Dec 12 – Great American Music Hall / San Francisco
Dec 14 – The Mayan / Los Angeles

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros: website | myspace | @ monolith 2009
Fool’s Gold: myspace |

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It seems Zee Avi has outgrown the First Unitarian Church’s Chapel. I can attest to the because, despite having the 9:30 show cancelled after the 7:30 show sold out (9:30 tickets were honored at 7:30), I arrived just ten minutes after doors and was forced to sit on the chapel’s stone floor as all the pews were packed. Sitting on the floor isn’t a complaint — I’d lay on a bed of nails if that’s what it took to have to see Zee perform — but, listen up R5 Productions, I’d like to recommend either keeping the second show or moving down the basement next time.

It was a nice surprise when Philadelphia locals The Mural and the Mint took stage to open for Zee; I’d been expecting Patrick Keeler (Zee’s drummer, whom you may remember from such bands as The Greenhornes and The Raconteurs) to open, which, sure, had confused me because he’s a drummer, but I’d merely misread an email. It was a delight to have the no-frills native indie pop quartet grace the pulpit providing catchy hooks with the occasional lapse into cacophony. If front man Michael Kiley‘s use of the ukulele isn’t enough to win you over (it should be), you can’t not love that The Mural and the Mint gives away all of their music for free. Head over to the band’s official page to score their debut record, Private Pockets, for nothing more than a suggested donation. Catch The Mural and the Mint on MySpace to sample some tunes and, if you like what you hear, please do donate even a small something so they can continue to make beautiful, sincere music.

A short standing intermission was rather welcomed during the set change as lower extremities took to falling asleep as my concert companions and I sat on the floor, but we were excited for Zee to take the stage. She was greeted with a burst of applause upon taking her seat on the pulpit. The set started off with some technical difficulties for her bassist which was more than worth the wait when the heavy, jazzy thumping finally resounded through the amp. With the voice of an angel, if you believe in such things, Zee kicked off the set with the jazzy “Poppy,” a eulogy about the deadly results of opium use; “My baby he don’t act like himself no more: / He lost that smile I use to adore. / He spend his nights slapping his veins / He lost that glow he used to have on his face.”

After a heartfelt cover of Interpol‘s “Slow Hands,” the set took on a joyful tone as Zee performed “The Traveler,” a hook-filled song which she’s only performed live. “I Am Me Once More” brought back that beautiful jazz sound Zee excels at before she teased the crowd about performing “Honey Bee,” her only love song and crowd favorite. There’s so much beauty in the seeming simplicity about a bee rescuing its love from the mindless drones of the beehive: “Oh my darling honey bee / I’ll come save you / Even if it means I’ll have to face the queen.”

The remainder of the set was largely a party with a musical triumvirate of single “Bitter Heart” preceding “Just You & Me” and the Manglish (= Malaysian + English) “Kantoi.” “Kantoi,” Malaysian for “busted,” is a fantastically poppy song despite its unsettling subject matter of a woman catching her boyfriend cheating on her, but it’s not so bad since she was cheating on him, too. Ah, love.

Discontent with a short eight song set, the crowd demanded another from the petite Malaysian songbird. Fortunately, she obliged and played a song that has been stuck in my head going on three days, Morrissey‘s “First of the Gang.” It needn’t be said that Moz is a legend and while he doesn’t have a reputation for being the sweetest fella, I can’t imagine he’d be at all mad at Zee’s sweet, delicate vocals doing eons of justice to this 2004 hit track. Taking another cue from Morrissey, Zee performed this as her solo encore song as Moz did at the end of many of his shows during his 2009 Tour of Refusal.

Last night, Zee Avi stole our hearts away.

Set List:
Poppy
Slow Hands (Interpol)
The Traveler
I Am Me Once More
Honey Bee
Bitter Heart
Just You & Me
Kantoi
//
First of the Gang (Morrissey)

Head over to Popwreckoning’s YouTube page to catch some footage of Zee during her previous stop through Philadelphia.

Zee Avi: website | myspace | @ webster hall
The Mural and the Mint: website | myspace

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