Kelsey Heng on October 22nd, 2013

0

Over the weekend at the L.A. Historic State Park, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros pitched their candy-striped Big Top tent, unloaded four nights of heyday circus nostalgia and created a musical creative experience to remember.

• Photos and recap by Kelsey Heng

Free to everyone, a circus bazaar surrounded the Ferris wheel complete with a side stage, moonshine/beer garden, wandering stilt walkers, carnival games and local merchants. Inside the Big Top, ticket-holders took to their seats with wide eyed excitement as the vaudeville one-acts began. A contortionist, puppeteer, burlesque dancer, fiddler, sword swallower and acrobats all performed brilliantly atop the rotating center stage.

When Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros finally took to the stage the crowd jumped to their feet ready for the final act of the night. Dressed in period circus costumes, the 12-member band created a seamless shift into their 1 1/2-hour performance. In between playing fan favorites “Man on Fire,” “That’s Whats Up,” “Janglin’” and “I Don’t Wanna Pray,” the band managed a few surprises of their own. The cover of the Beatles song “I Saw Her Standing There” paled in comparison to the moment when, during the final song of the night, the spotlight turned to a young girl in the crowd. Jorge Navarez introduced himself and his daughter Alexa, saying it had been three years since they first sang the hit song “Home” together. The tent filled with shock as the duo, whose YouTube video went viral and has amassed more than 26 million views, took to the stage and helped sing the remaining half of the song.

“The night has just begun,” lead vocalist Alex Ebert explained to the Big Top as he invited everyone to join him and the band outside. After hundreds surrounded a lone piano overlooking the L.A. skyline and joined in swaying to “Lean on Me,” “Stand by Me,” “Apeman,” “All Wash Out” and “Brother” the night finally came to a close. The band said their goodbyes and those remaining stumbled through the darkened circus booths humming on the way back to their cars