Ok, so maybe that's a little bit dramatic of me, but in all seriousness this concert absolutely blew my mind. I'm still reeling three days later.
Please Note: This song contains the "F" word. If you'd like to listen to the clean version, click here!
Mumford and Sons is an English band that formed in December of 2007. Their unique harmonies, raw lyrics, and folky arrangements caused an instant stir in the indie/folk world, selling out their first concert only 6 months after the band was formed. Their first and only album, "Sigh No More" came out in 2009, several months after the band had already begun to tour.
Interestingly enough, the band was on tour long before its members began to produce studio recordings, which might explain why Mumford and Sons are so incredibly powerful live.
I couldn't find a good quality of this song from the Palladium
I arrived at the Hollywood Palladium two hours before the doors were set to open, only to find a line of fans that already wound more than halfway around the block. Being the neurotic old woman I am, I had prepared for this by bringing along a Trader Joe's picnic feast , and quickly settled into line. Soon I had made friends with the people sitting around me, as we shared bread and cheese and swapped stories about our favorite Mumford and Sons songs. We could hear sound check through the walls of the Palladium, which, needless to say, only contributed to the rising excitement of the crowd.
Finally we were all packed inside, strangers pressed against strangers in a nebulous mass of plaid and skinny jeans. The openers were actually quite good. King Charlers opened the show completely acapella, which he followed with an adorable acoustic version of his song "Love Lust". He tunes were catchy, his lyrics were cute, and his hair defied gravity. The other opener, Mt. Desolation, didn't have nearly as distinctive a sound, but their harmonies were nice and I definitely danced around a lot.
By 10 o'clock, we were crammed together so tightly it was hard to turn around. Those unlucky enough to have small bladders or parched throats lost any chance of returning to their spots on the floor, as people filled their spaces like frenzied tetris blocks (I know this because we actually lost two members of our party, who apparently found a spot in the balcony and had a marvelous time anyway). My back was hurting, I was thirsty, I was tired of the couple behind me bumping me while they made out- I was quickly becoming grumpy.
And then they started.
The instant Mumford and Sons started singing, hitting their first, heartbreakingly beautiful harmony of "Sigh No More," the crowd went silent. Not to be overly poetic or anything, but it felt almost like the music was rushing water that covered the crowd and suddenly we were all swimming in the notes of their song. You know when you're at a crowded pool and you dive under the water and suddenly everything feels calm and quiet and distant? Yeah, it was like that, only with music, which, needless to say, was awesome.
I must have looked like a total dope, standing there in shocked and blissful silence, with my mouth hanging stupidly open and my hands on my face, like some weird indie version of Munsch's "The Scream." The only thing that made it better was that everyone looked the exact same way. I kid you not, this complete stranger, a man who looked at least thirty, looked over at me, his eyes shining with tears, and simply mouthed the words "Holy Crap."
And it stayed that good. They played every song on their album, and with every perfectly placed harmony the audience fell in love with them even more. I could go on, lovingly detailing every song with anecdotes about how cried, or how many times that guy next to me cried (and a lot louder than me too), or how cool it was to see crowd surfers during a banjo solo. But I won't.
Please Note- the song doesn't actually start until 1:16, and he swears while he's talking, so skip ahead if you don't want to hear it. For those of you who skip the intro, this is an "unplugged" version of their song "Sister." Because of the camera angle, the harmonies aren't well balanced.
There's a quote that says "Music is what feelings sound like." And this concert reminded me of that. So, please forgive the love letter, and even if Mumford and Sons is not up your alley, I hope that someday you are all able to experience live music that reminds you why concerts exist in the first place.
Oh, and to top it off? I ran into the guy who plays Colin (God Of Sex) in the British film Love Actually after the concert. Since that's one of my favorite movies, I was stoked.
This was the band's closing number. It's a little hard to hear, and they were tired at this point, but I put it on anyway. Click here to listen to the real version of the song.
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