The world could use some positive vibes right about now, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros sweat giant beads of hope. The traveling gypsy dectet (yep, that means there are 10 members) inspires audiences to bounce and laugh and twirl and shout with songs that sweep you up in their down-home charm and heroic clarity. Authentic? The glowing grins on the musicians’ faces appeared to be on Saturday night, and female vocalist Jade Castrinos’, um, altered behavior seemed in keeping with the group’s psychedelic-circus rep. As for Alex Ebert, who ditched the hipster dance-punk of Ima Robot to become leader of the hippie folk-rock troupe, who knows? Moreover, who cares? Fun is fun, and if you didn’t have some at the group’s Vegas tourstop, there’s probably no chance you ever will.

The Details

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Hard Rock Cafe (Strip), July 3

The set opened with the first two songs off debut Up From Below—the Arcade Fire-y epic “40 Day Dream” and the blithe and airy “Janglia”—and at that point, most of the sizeable 18-and-over crowd could have gone home happy no matter what … well, provided real-life couple Ebert and Castrinos performed their chirpy duet, “Home” (which they did). In between, the Zeros seemed intent on proving they had chops (which they did, in an intentionally sloppy kinda way), transitioning from dark ballad “Desert Song” to the sparkly and upbeat “Come in Please.” And then Ebert sat on the floor for a one-song encore (“Brother”) and asked his fans to sit, too. Many did, as if drawn to the source of such exotic positivism.