First of all, let’s talk about how incredibly exciting it is that Mumford and Sons walked away with Best Album of The Year at the Grammy’s. I’m confident I am one of Mumford’s biggest fans and I have to admit I wasn’t sure they’d receive the credit they deserved for Babel. Needless to say, I was beside myself not only when they won but when I realized I would be seeing them perform their first concert since the Grammy’s.
For my birthday, my wonderful boyfriend bought me (well, for both us, really, since he loves them just as much as I do) tickets to see Mumford and Sons play at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York.
I KNOW, RIGHT?
Anyway, we had seen them in Aspen, Colorado back in September, so I was really excited that we were going to see them again so soon, in a different environment, and on my actual birthday.
Due to a lengthy subway ride, we were late to the concert so we missed the first opener, HAIM.
For those of you that don’t know who HAIM is, it is a band of three sisters from Los Angeles with long hair and rockin’ attitudes.
We caught the end of the second opener Ben Howard, a British singer/songwriter Marcus Mumford referred to as the Elvis of their country. Since we only saw one song of his, I can neither confirm nor deny Marcus’ overwhelming statement of Mr. Howard.
Being the reserved, quiet gentlemen they are, Mumford and Son’s made no introduction or presentation of themselves, they immediately went into the title track of their sophomore album, Babel, as the stage curtains flew into the ceiling and the lights lit the arena a blaze.
We were on the floor in the standing room only area, which is absolutely the best place to be if you get the opportunity. Everyone in that section was yelling the lyrics at the top of their lungs while jumping up and down and clapping their hands; you just feel more connected with the concert and the band. But don’t worry if you’re tight on cash, as long as you’re in hearing distance you’ve got a good seat.
Also, during the encore, they moved to a small stage in the back of the arena to be closer to the fans a little further away. The great thing about being in standing room was being able to move to the front row of that stage (see above image). How thoughtful!
Mumford is all about business when they start their show. There isn’t a lot of talking with the audience, which I think is a great thing in their case. It took them four songs before they acknowledged and thanked the audience for coming out. This might rub people the wrong way or seem like they’re not interested in the people who paid good money to see them but in this case, it kept the crowd hanging on every single word they said.
After they thanked the audience for being “kind for coming at all” to their concert (and I was like ‘Hah, yeah, you’re welcome’), they had a little hiccup in the set list. Part of what makes their concerts so great is the constant instrument changing that goes on; Marcus will go from an acoustic guitar to an electric guitar to the drums, so it’s understandable if he mixes up which instrument he’s supposed to be playing next. But, being the nice guy he is, he apologized for the one minute delay.
“We’re in a bit of a daze, we had a mental weekend [at the Grammys],” Marcus said. “We’re sick and we’re tired, but we’re f*****g glad to be here!”
Now, if you’re wondering if the show is worth the money, I’d give a resounding YES. Not only is it probably the best concert you’ll ever attend in your LIFE (assuming you’re a Mumford fan, which you should be if you’re paying for tickets to a show, right?), but they give you a thick show with 11 songs in the regular set and four songs during the encore. That’s 15 songs, which is a whole album…plus some!
Check out the wicked, amazing set list:
- Babel
- I Will Wait
- Below My Feet
- Timshel
- Little Lion Man
- Lover of The Light
- Thistle and Weeds
- Ghosts That We Knew
- Awake My Soul
- Whispers In The Dark
- Dust Bowl Dance
ENCORE
- Reminder
- Where Are You Now
- The Cave
- The Weight (The Band cover) with special guests HAIM and Ben Howard
Mumford just announced they will be playing at this year’s Bonnaroo Music & Arts festival with The Lumineers and many more… I encourage everyone to check it out!
About Sarah Scroggins
