Mumford & Sons 11/12/2012

Mumford & Sons - O2 Arena, London
Tuesday 11th December 2012

It's hard to believe that they had only released their first album 3 years ago. Mumford & Sons' success has been phenomenal taking the world by storm; a refreshing musky storm of folk, bluegrass, pop and rock.The lights went down and a sudden surge of anticipation and excited muttering flooded the arena. A rusk sound of the banjo begins and the Gentlemen of the Road curtain falls dramatically sending the crowd insane. Stood on stage, we see 4 straggly folks in their rolled up sleeved shirts - the never changing look of these overly talented gentlemen.

Rootsy opening with Babel, title track of their most recent album (and possibly my favourite song off the album) told me that in this show, I would see no fault. I was right. The emotional connection to Mumford's music is intense; performances of tracks were truly captivating and taken in by every single of the audience. Ghost That We Knew had been particularly personal and it wasn't until Winston shouted 'There's shitloads of you out there', I realised I wasn't alone and 18,000 others were in the arena.

Photo: Paul Hudson

Everyone’s all-time favourites Little Lion Man and The Cave both performed with a ground- shaking, vivacious singalong from the crowd . After a jaw-dropping acoustic set in the middle of the standing area, Marcus Mumford and his 'sons' made their way back to the stage to end with an incredibly fun, loud and a song defining the bands progress over the years was the unprecedented Beatles' tune With a Little Help From My Friends.

After waiting so long to see them, the ~~boys~~ gentlemen met up to my exceedingly high expectations. The crowd were deafeningly delightful (and dangerous at times), most tracks from both albums were played and they definitely gave their all (get it haha). All-in all, I left with the same opinion I had when I went in...Mumford & Sons are perfect.

(P.s. Purchased tickets for their UK stopover in Lewes, you should all too!) http://www.mumfordandsons.com/

Set list:

Babel
I Will Wait
Winter Winds
Below My Feet
White Blank Page
Hopeless Wanderer
Timshel
Little Lion Man
Lover of the Light
Thistle and Weeds
Lovers' Eyes
Ghosts That We Knew
Awake My Soul
Roll Away Your Stone
Whisper in the Dark
Dust Bowl Dance
Remainder
Sister
The Cave
With a Little Help from My Friends

Support act:

Dawes- http://dawestheband.com/

Extra bit and me on a bit of a ramble hype:

Following them for over 4 years, purchasing their Tour of Two Halves tickets was something I had been saving up for since I was 13 years old and my parents had said no to their previous tour(17 now). I had first heard about Mumford & Sons back in 2008 as they were starting their rise in the music industry. Me and a friend would sit in class and sing aloud whilst those surrounding us had no clue of who we were singing. Now, everywhere we turn, a Mumford track is playing. It kinda gives you this proud mother sort of feeling. I know it's not been long- but with some music- you can just feel a connection (cliche) and yes, I feel that connection with Mumford's music.