Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros w/ Dawes @ Pabst Theater

With a vast, adventurous blend of rock’n’ roll energy and revival-show theatrics, Edward Sharpe & The MagneticZeros roared into The Pabst Theater with a purpose for a wildly entertainingperformance Monday night. The band's size suggests the enormous scope of theirsound10 musicians, including band founders Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinosyeteven with so many players, the group never seemed constrained on the theater'sstage. Instead, the band joyfully rollicked to triumphant trumpets and rousingguitars.

Dressed in white with a red scarf andgrizzled facial hair, Ebert bellowed soulfully as he led the band, jumpingaround the stage and intimately conversing with the crowd, like they werefamily.

Castrinos also added to the night’swarm atmosphere. During the band's song devoted to her (“Jade”), she was atfirst nowhere to be found, but she soon rushed the stage, wrapping arms withEbert, dancing and twirling around. Her sweet voice was the perfectcounterpoint to Ebert's on “Home,” the one song to feature her entirely onvocals.

There was a sense that the band hadgrown genuinely fond of the crowd over the course of the nightthey even sang“Happy Birthday” to two audience members.

The encore was particularly heartfelt.Toward the end, Ebert crouched down and invited the audience standing in frontof the stage to climb up and sit down. With a guitar in hand, Ebert sang anemotionally powerful version of “Brother,” as the band sat among the crowd.Afterward, the group launched into a tropical dance beat, and the crowd onstage stood up and danced away.

While it'd be hard to match the energycreated by Edward Sharpe, openers Dawes were able to hold their own with agreat set of soulful folk-rock. The band's set featured songs from their debut,released last year, including “Love Is All I Am” and “When My Time Comes.”

Photo by CJ Foeckler