When Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros announced their summer tour dates, Desiree Beaupre-Hayes circled July 6 on her calendar. Not only would she get to see her favorite band play on her birthday at the Crossroads KC outdoor venue, but it also meant she and her husband would be returning to the same spot where they married two years earlier by ESMZ guitarist Christian Letts.
Unfortunately, heavy rain showers and tornado warnings forced the band to cancel the July 6 show. But when the band returned Wednesday night for a make-up concert at the Crossroads KC, Desiree and Jordan were back, and even were able to tell their story in the middle of Home.
“We’re coming back for our 2-year-anniversary and we just wanted to say ‘Hey,’” Jordan Hayes told Ebert.
“Did you all get engaged here?” Ebert asked.
“We got married. Yeah, that was us,” Hayes said. “We just want to let you know that every time we hear your music, from now to the first time we ever heard it, it makes us feel the same way… wherever we’re out. That’s really sweet.”
Back on June 29, 2013, Jordan surprised Desiree by proposing to her during ESMZ’ Home. As it turned out, they found out that Letts was not only a talented guitarist and vocalist, but he also was an ordained minister. So the happy couple decided to get married – right then and there.
“We’ve never done that before,” Ebert said at the time. “In fact, I didn’t even know Christian was an ordained minister.”
Letts – backed up by several members of ESMZ – kick-started the night with an opening set promoting his debut solo album, “Hold Fast,” produced by Marcus Mumford. The set featured amazing trumpet solos by Stewart Cole during Charles De Gaulle and Twenty Seven Arrows.
ESMZ took the stage around 9:15 p.m., opening with crowd favorite Man on Fire. The band performed a total of 14 songs and as usual, took some unusual requests from the fans. One of the requests, much to the surprise of Ebert, was the 1998 Semisonic song, Closing Time. Ebert started singing one of the verses of the song, before stopping himself.
“Holy shit, wow. I can’t do it,” he said. “You can do it though….” The crowd happily obliged, going into a verse from the 1998 hit.
The Magnetic Zeros then went back to their roots with Come in Please, off the band’s 2010 debut album, at the request of another fan.
“We haven’t played that song in about 4 years, maybe 5,” Ebert told the audience. “And you got to see it here. Imagine that.”
After a rockin’ Janglin, it was time for Home … but not before Ebert explained to the fans why he still enjoys playing the song.
“Home is a song written about two people – Jade and me,” he said. “We were not lovers, we were best friends. Best friends can have romance in their lives because basically what I think romance is … is the presence of death in the moment, and knowing that it will pass. And that makes everything – poetry, beauty … everything that means anything … it means something because we’re going to die. I can sing this song to you tonight because you asked for it, and because I got a tattoo that says ‘U.’
“‘U’ is you. It’s always going to be you… When I sing this song, what I’m talking about is you, OK? That is why I sing this song. That’s how I’m singing the song.”
Setlist:
Man on Fire
40 Day Dream
Truth
If I Were Free
Up from Below
A Million Years
Come in Please
Janglin
Home
When You’re Young
Original song by Crash
I Don’t Wanna Pray
Om Nashi
Me All Wash Out
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