You Ain't Goin' Nowhere: Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, Sheridan Opera House, Telluride, CO, 12.02.2009

The homecoming show (by 30 miles) for Alex Ebert, more widely known as Edward Sharpe – the charismatic front man of the Magnetic Zeros, was full of energy, parents and a lot of dancing from the time the opening act struck the first note until the onstage sing-along that was the final track by the headliner.

Often, I find myself counting the days until I rejoin the rest of civilization in a town/city with more than 2,000 year-round residents and winter weather above 30 degrees. However, when I visit the historic Sheridan Opera House with its intimate 240-seat setting, I feel very fortunate to see musicians in such a beautiful surrounding. This was my second trip to the Opera House for a show, the first being Blind Pilot (which is definitely in the top 15 shows I have seen), and the show last night was another one for the ages.

The opening act, Fool's Gold, started the night out with an world groove set that really had the crowd dancing. Luckily, this was the only opener for the evening, because I don't know if the crowd could have taken another (they would have been beat for Ed and the Zeros). Fool's Gold reminded me of a Rusted Root/String Cheese Incident/Vampire Weekend sound – strange comparison, I know. They use heavy world beats with three percussionists - one in a dashiki, the other looked straight out of Fleet Foxes and the third a member of the Zeros. The beats kept the crowd moving the entire set. The lead guitarist was quite fun to watch (he, too, looked like he could have been in Fleet Foxes or Band of Horses). He dug the sounds as much, if not more, than the crowd did. They were a good bit of fun and really appealed to the rather crunchy crowd. Their set ended on a high note and the crowd was eager for Edward Sharpe and The Zeros to take the stage to continue this dance party.

However, as the crew set the stage for the Zeros, many chairs adorned it. The crowd, still on a high from the opener, went wild when Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros took the stage. And my friend’s suspicion was confirmed when Alex/Edward admitted that the crowd was much wilder than they expected and the relaxed, acoustic set that they had planned might not work out. Nonetheless, they started strong with 'Janglin' and continued with a great set of live music. In their first four songs, they played their biggest (or my favorite) three - 'Janglin,' '40 Days,' and 'Home.'

Seeing that Alex is from Rico, Colorado, he mentioned that he had fond memories of visiting the Sheridan Opera House to see movies as a child. He let us all know how special it was for him to be playing this historic venue in Telluride with many special people in the audience, including his parents. When his father decided to go shirtless, Alex commented that, "I know we're related." Two songs later, he decided to go sans shirt himself, saying it was for his father.

Rather than performing an encore, the band continued to play without a break, much to the enjoyment of the sold-out crowd. Unfortunately the show did come to an end. But it was a special moment when Alex and his guitarist remained on the stage while the other members of the band went backstage. He invited his parents and many members of the crowd up on stage to have a seat while they sang a beautiful version of 'Brother.' After the show, Alex embraced his father onstage in what was a special moment for both Eberts. Afterward, Alex mingled in the crowd with old friends and fans while the majority of the crowd stumbled into the cold.

Now, we just need Telluride to bring more exciting acts this way and the bitter cold of the winter won't seem so long.

The standout song, other than the well known ones mentioned above, was definitely 'Om Nashi Me.' 3 of the 7 members of Fool's Gold joined the band on stage for the song before the finale to get the crowd really moving before the they cooled us down with the laidback closer.

Below are some pictures that I snapped with my phone. I apologize for the poor quality of the pics, but I was in a rush to get to the show and forgot to take my camera.