When “Little Lion Man” first hit our radios back in 2009, I think we all thought this is something special. Now three years, two albums and one BRIT award later, Marcus Mumford and co have just reached the end of their sell out ‘Tour of Two Halves’ tour around the UK. To say they have come so far in so little time would be an understatement. After two huge albums, I was ecstatic to finally have the chance to see them live in concert earlier this month, and wow was it worth the wait.
The support bands, The Post War Years and Dawes, were handpicked by Mumford & Sons and delivered two very notable performances. The former adopting a musical style similar to The Killers, with big choruses and impressive vocals, and the latter fusing Neil Young grunge with classic Americana and brilliant vocal harmonies.
As Dawes ended their final song, excitement around the audience rose, awaiting the imminent arrival of Mumford & Sons. Suddenly, the curtain came down, behind which was the band who immediately broke into their fantastic and well-chosen first song, “Babel”. From that moment I knew it was going to be a show to remember!
As expected, the band went through most of the tracks from new album “Babel”, with some of the classics of the debut album “Sigh No More” mixed in. Marcus Mumford’s unique voice was amplified perfectly and the overall sound quality was faultless. In between songs, various members of the band took time to interact with the audience, and they even bought “Dawes” back on stage to perform a song together half way through.
They had the audience on their feet from start to finish, and just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, they ended their encore by bringing Dawes back on and transitioning slowly into a magnificent cover of the classic Beatles song “With a Little Help From My Friends”. It was the cherry on top of a very impressive and memorable cake.
Well done Mumford & Sons, you smashed it!
