Noise Pop 2010: Edward Sharpe, Watson Twins, AB & the Sea, Northern Key @ Bimbo’s
March 4, 2010
Photos by: Charlie Homo
The closing nights of the last two Noise Pop festivals have focused not only on musical quality, but on the credo of the more outrageous live performance. See: 2009′s Les Savy Fav antics at the Mezzanine. For 2010, this meant bringing together the harmonious indie rock collective du jour: Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros.
The former Ima Robot man (Alex Ebert) and his merry bunch have cultivated a significant following over the past year, not just for the appreciation of the songs on 2009′s Up from Below. Although, for my money, “Home” is one of the most genuinely endearing and wonderful songs to have emerged in the past many years, one of the better musical representations of true love, fleeting or not (“Home / Let me come home / Home is whenever I’m with you”).
In fact, the significance of “Home” applies to more than just Ebert and his adorably talented girlfriend, Jade Castrinos, despite the fact that they perform the song as a duet and the song seems to directly revolve around their relationship. The Polyphonic Spree-like collective of the Zeros played together on Sunday at Bimbo’s not just as a seemingly rag-tag group of chums, but as a legitimately gifted, charismatic group of musicians who truly enjoy playing together as friends. As Edward said at one point, “I apologize, we just really really like playing together. Thanks for putting up with us.”
Essentially, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, as long as they are together, are always “home,” no matter where they actually happen to be – and the collective love is palpable. During Sunday’s ruckus, “Home” was performed with absolute certainty, with a joyous grace and explosive energy that was absolutely awe (and “awww”)-inspiring.
