Painting Live with Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

I was watching the film, The Pursuit of happiness the other day and there’s a bit in it when he finally gets the job that he’s been working towards for ages and he says something about life having special moments of happiness.

Well, I had one of those last night, as I was painting live with Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros who I’ve been waiting for in London for well over a year now. I only paint bands whose music I love, but occasionally I paint live with bands who are personally very close to my heart because their music has at some moment in my life touched me profoundly. Iggy was one, The Charlatans another, Black Eyed Peas were and Paul Weller too….Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros are one such band.

The gig wasn’t just a gig, it was so much more.  It was a very unique experience because the band had curated various installations of art and music in other parts of the Old Vic Tunnels.  My favorite being the sun and the moon, but there were people doing portraits, a harpist, a guy walking around with a wooden horse and gorgeous women dressed up in what I think was Victorian dress.  All this added to a vibe that was incredibly difficult to define other than it being a special inclusive connection to fans.    Furthermore this unique interactive connection with the audience was further compounded by the way the band entered the stage, through the middle of the crowd lead by a large drum booming in the air.  This i thought was just brilliant.

I had a cigarette with Jade & Rome during the day and a chat with Alex, a few other bands members and their manager later on.  The thing that struck me immediately was the genuine friendly, chilled out nature of everyone, which was clearly the source of the magical vibe.  For me this magic shines though in their music, it’s the this magic that hooked me on them so long ago and on a fundamental level its this magic that makes Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros what they are, and what they are makes me happy, I like being happy.

In terms of the actual painting, I don’t remember anything from the experience other than when Aaron (I think it was Aaron) came up to me during a song saying it looked cool and that he’s been watching me, oh and I also remember the whistling at the start of Home, which was their last song, but I don’t remember painting it.  All I remember is the the feeling, a feeling of freedom to express music in that moment, which was both beautiful and exhausting.

Overall, this was a very special night, with a very special band and I feel incredibly special to have been part of it. However, the only problem being the music painter is that i miss the actual gig, in that i saw the music but not the band...so my mission now is to actually go to their gig and see them perform at some point soon.  From the pictures on the night it looked amazing, you can see them all here, if you're quick and tell me which one is your fav you may win something from this actual gig so check them out!


As a final note, and this is important.  I've talked about happiness in my own little peice of music painting world on saturday, and for that moment it is all I focus on.  However this is experienced in the context of wider thoughts for those close to my heart that are fighting serious illness, who inspire me to appreciate the importance of our time, health and dreams, which are far too often forgotten. 


My thoughts are also with those in Japan, I've just used this British Red Cross link to donate some money, use it too if you want.

One Love.

Kx