Home is shooting Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Shutter: 1/400, Aperture: f/2.0, Lens: 50mm, ISO: 1600

I’m a big fan of hippie rock act Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros (you’ve whistled with their song Home, and heard Janglin in that Ford Fiesta commercial) and I was very excited they were coming to DC. The vibe of the audience was amazing… young, hopeful, and full of love. This is the closest I’ll get to a 60s era love-in. I think I got some photos that reinforce the messianic persona of (the fictional) Edward Sharpe. Click below for more shots and to hear about this evening.

Jade Castrinos has a wonderful 60s flower-child vibe about her. She rocked this look as she swayed and marched to the music. I was a little frustrated at the very beginning as there was no photo pit. Yes, I’m a little bit of a diva now and love having that small spread to move about freely and get those close-up photos right at the base of the stage. However, when the band wants to be a bit closer to the audience (physically and spiritually) they opt out of having a pit to bring the action in tight. Everyone was packed up against the stage during the opener (I got there about 45 minutes before The Magnetic Zeros were supposed to take the stage) so once I got a spot up front I held firm. From that vantage point I was a little limited in what angles I could get (and as luck would have it, one of the guitarists was directly between me and the “center spot” for a good bit of the night) but I did get lucky here and there. This is one of those lucky shots.

The mythology of the band is that leader Alex Ebert created the persona of Edward Sharpe, a special being with a message to improve mankind that gets a bit distracted along the way. I acknowledge I was a preacher’s kid growing up, so this iconography is all too familiar, but damn, this dude sure rocks the Jesus look, and my photos certainly reinforce that. I love that image at the top because its full of power and presence, but it’s not intimidating. This photo on the other hand is quite a bit intimidating. I think Henry Rollins when I see this shot. I’m hesitant to include it because I feel it’s not very close to the vibe Ebert gives off most of the time, however there is an incredible amount of power and command of the stage present in this photo, and Ebert certainly has it.

Here we go… this is more of the lovey dovey Jesus look. Per the usual, I only had three songs to shoot and I was getting frustrated that the spot I had camped out wasn’t all that optimal… then miracles happen. I love how this photo captures the expression on Ebert’s face, as well as the pure passion in the crowd. Again, I got lucky.

This photo is similar to the pink one at the top, but different. I really cranked the contrast and clarity in RAW to define that halo around him a little bit more. I love the lighting at 9:30 Club. Of all the places I’ve shot in DC, 9:30 Club is by far the best for shooting. I’ll be shooting Collective Soul at the Silver Spring Fillmore in a few days, and I’ll report on how that one goes. I think Ebert looks more like Jesus here than anywhere. People were reaching out to touch him as if to be healed. At one point (after my 3 song limit) he came and sat down in the middle of the floor with people sitting all around him. Up until this point, the Fatboy Slim concert was my favorite as far as audience vibe goes. But the free-flowing love and total lack of any type of aggression by the “punk kids” I run into so often at concerts, was so refreshing. Ok, I may be going a bit overboard because some girl used my arm and her boob as a tripod to get cellphone pics for a stretch, but really, there was a tremendous vibe about the whole place, unlike anywhere else.

I broke one of my guidelines that I’m always preaching to you guys… don’t forget the drummer. Well whoops, because of two factors… my limited vantage point and the sheer number of musicians on stage (10? 12?) it was tough to get a cool shot of everyone there, so I really focused on Alex and Jade. I also felt like I hadn’t captured any “winner” shots until the second song, so I was freaking out a little bit. I neglected pretty much everyone else (I tried getting a few shots of the others, but they didn’t really come out) I like this one. I saw the moment, adjusted my manual settings accordingly, and then nailed the shot.

I did however, remember to keep an eye out for little details. My line of sight was pretty much right on these little lights underneath one of the keyboards. I spotted it while the opener was playing, so I nailed it before my 3 song set even began. I love the bokeh, and was glad I got a little quiet seclusion here. I was looking for a setlist, but there wasn’t one taped down that close to me.

I had a blast at the Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros show. This is now one of my top concerts ever. They have a new album coming out any day now, swing by their web site for tour dates and downloads, and check out my gallery below for more shots.

Update! a few of these photos appear in an ABCNews interview with the band here: