Recap: Mumford & Sons

by Jessica Willcocks 31 October 2012

Mumford & Sons played to a sold out show on Friday night at the Convention Centre. The line-up was not one to miss with Willie Mason and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros supporting.

Willie Mason kicked of the night for those who got there early playing songs from his EPs as well as his two albums Where the Humans Eat and If the Ocean Gets Rough. The American born singer drew the crowd in as he was accompanied on stage to perform songs such as Waiter at the Station.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros followed next, leaving enough time between sets to allow you to stand in line for a drink, grab some food and head to the toilet without missing an act. Best known for their song Home, the band showed their talent through a showcase of songs from their albums and EPs.

During their song Home, Alex Ebert shared the story of the Big Easy Express which they shared with Mumford & Sons when they rode a train from one side of America stopping to play songs at different stations. The bands show how close they are as each band joined the other on stage during their performance playing as if they were having a jam session as they eased into the songs together with their rendition of Lean on Me being one of my highlights of the night.

The crowd rose to their feet with cheers as Mumford & Sons took the stage again. One of the things I noticed about their entire set was that they didn’t really speak to the audience, or have witty remarks, and yet their performance was incredibly moving and powerful as they let their music speak. During the encore the crowd was completely hushed as they sung without microphones letting you hear the raw talent from the men.

The guys played songs from their first album Sigh No More which is taken from a line of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing with many other lines from his plays appear in the titles and songs. They also played hits off their second album Babel which continued with the same feel and sound of the first album, perfecting the sound that they had already developed.

In numerous of songs, many different instruments were played by the guys, as well as the horn section from the Magnetic Zeros accompanying them on stage. The use of the different instruments intensified the set, and highlighted the different genres within their music that is used.

Going into the concert, I hadn’t really heard any of Mumford & Sons music, but after seeing the talent displayed by the guys as well as the interesting influences behind their music, I couldn’t but be converted to a Mumford and Sons fan.