The Buzz Halloweenie Roast 2010: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Ra Ra Riot, Middle Class Rut, Fourth of July, The Grisly Hand
Beaumont Club
October 23, 2010
Admittedly, I showed up a little late for 96.5 The Buzz's Halloweenie Roast on Saturday night at the Beaumont Club. I was sorry to have missed the Grisly Hand, but I'm sure they were as spectacular per usual. I didn't recognize the band on stage and actually asked the doorman who was playing, and was surprised to find it was Fourth of July. I've always enjoyed their sets, after seeing them over the past few years -- mostly in Lawrence. With the release of their second album, Before Our Hearts Explode!, I heard a distinctively more mature and polished band. The same great band now comes with a flourishing sound that's proof that hard work and perseverance can pay off; even in Kansas.
Between the local acts and headliners Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, strange things happened. First, the Beaumont filled up like a fat lady in a tube top. Then, Middle Class Rut, from Sacramento, California shredded Kansas City suburban teenage ass.
I overheard an abundance of, "Oh my gaaaaawd! That's like SO loud....Like, it's good and everything, but it's like SUPER, like, loud." Welcome to rock and roll, my little pets. Two guys -- one with a guitar and one with some drums -- created a sound that I wouldn't believe was just two dudes. I was standing there with my jaw on the floor. Because it was super metal, in like a totally bitchin' way.
Ra Ra Riot was interrupted by a crowd more interested in checking their phones (presumable for KU/MIZZOU scores). Empty faces met the Syracuse, New York hipster band. A few people mouthed the words to a few of the soft soothing vocals that share the air with symphonic strings. But mostly, the young crowd was just jittery.
Unfortunately, I had only heard of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros before the show on Saturday. Flash forward to Saturday night. With a stage overflowing with instruments and what looked like a hippie commune delivered via time travel from the 1960's, Edward and the gang had arrived. Frontman Alex Ebert, looks like Jesus (the fake white one, with a beard). In fact, reading about the young band's inception and very short history (drugs, rehab, solitary confinement, imagined alter-ego 'Edwards Sharpe' character described as a Messiah of love, etc.) I don't think it's all that far-fetched. The crowd certainly behaved as if the second coming had landed at the Beaumont.
Youngsters, packed tighter than sardines, emulated a steam engine releasing bursts of thick white pot smoke in such random accuracy the bouncers eventually had to give up. (I was at the Lil' Wayne show at the Sprint Center in early 2009, and that show got nothing on Edward's show. I didn't think it was possible to hotbox an entire venue, especially one as large as The Beaumont. However...)
Dancing, barefoot, tambourine-wielding musicians turned the Beaumont into a grassy meadow on a warm sunny summer day in 1969. Feelings of love and freedom were evoked in the changing tempo of each song. Piano, keyboard, accordion, trumpet, and the beating of two drum sets accompanied vocals as sweet and harmonious as two humans were ever capable of. Alex and Jade sang in unison at, for, and of each other. The crowd sang back and also shook tambourines embedded with the band's logo. Swaying and embracing each other, obvious strangers became friends. I don't think I've ever seen a crowd so captivated.
Favorite songs like "Home" and "Jade" drew new friends into a frenzy not unlike some out-of-this-world religious experience, which were not without shrieks and tears. Boys and girls alike grasped for Alex, as he extended his hands in true prophet's style. Toward the end of the set, the stage was rushed by as many people as it could hold. The band welcomed everyone, holding hands and throwing arms around as many people as they could. The Beaumont surged in a manifestation of ultimate unity, and for a moment, the universe was at peace.
Critic's Bias: The Beaumont has never smelled so good. I stopped for Doritos, Coke, and Favorite Reds Starburst on the way home. Harmless.
Random Notebook Dump: If Donnie Darko is real and in a band... he is Zach Lopez of Middle Class Rut. Delicious.
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