Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes Point to Fun Concert at Stage AE (Tues., 6/30/15)

1) Folk rockers Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros bring their own party with them to perform—a dozen or more musicians are needed to play their jangly, exuberant songs. It’s hard to tell just how many people are actually in the band, but it doesn’t seem to matter either—they almost make you feel like it would be okay if you jumped up with a tambourine and joined them too. You’ve almost certainly heard their big hit “Home”, from their 2009 debut album Up From Below. Since then they’ve released two more albums, but Home is still their only track to achieve a chart placing. That hasn’t stopped them developing a loyal live following, with tours in the US, UK, Australia, and Europe. The driving force behind the band is Alex Ebert, who first created Edward Sharpe as a character in a never-finished novel, who invented a new form of math called Magnetic Zeros. Instead of emerging in book form, the two ideas coalesced into a musical project. The band’s facebook page promises a fourth album this summer, so fans may get a taste of new material at their Stage AE show. 7 p.m. 400 North Shore Dr., North Shore. (HM)

2) A Little Chaos — In the middle of a summer filled with nonstop CGI effects and inconsequential plots, who would have ever thought a movie like this would be released? It’s about dueling landscape artists! Kate Winslet and Matthias Schoenaerts play rival gardeners in the court of Louis XIV. And wouldn’t you know it but they fall in love! Who knew shrubbery could be so turgid?! You might be tempted to dismiss it as nonsense, but the brilliant Alan Rickman directs and there’s an outstanding supporting cast of some seriously talent actors from both sides of the pond: Jennifer Ehle, Stanley Tucci, Rupert Penry-Jones, Steve Waddington, Adrian Scarborough, Phyllida Law, and Helen McCrory. And, as a bonus, Rickman turns up as the aforementioned Sun King.Check Fandango for screens and times.  (TH)

3) Gemma Bovery — In the world of “high concept” movies, Gemma Bovery surely must rank near the top. If you were paying attention in your high school AP English Lit class you’ll know that Gustave Flaubert wrote a little book called Madame Bovary in 1856 about a doctor’s wife named Emma Bovary who, to assuage her boredom, has a number of adulterous affairs. That novel is considered a masterpiece of realist fiction writing. (Some fun facts: Flaubert and his work were put on trial for obscenity, but he was eventually cleared and the trial substantially increased sales of the novel. And in the 1950s play Auntie Mame we find the following exchange: Mame Dennis: “Flaubert worked on Madame Bovary for ten years!” Vera Charles: “Oh really? How did she stand it?”) Check Fandango for screens and times. (TH)

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