Mumford & Sons – Live in 2018

Mumford & Sons came to Leeds' First Direct Arena at the start of their big new tour....
Mumford & Sons : Live

Mumford & Sons : Live

More

Click here for photos from this show in the QRO Concert Photo Gallery

Click here for photos of Mumford & Sons at 2018 Newport Folk Festival in Newport, RI in the QRO Concert Photo Gallery

Click here for QRO’s review of Mumford & Sons at Infinite Energy Arena in Atlanta, GA on April 11th, 2016

Click here for photos of Mumford & Sons at 2015 Outside Lands in San Francisco, CA in the QRO Concert Photo Gallery

Click here for photos of Mumford & Sons at Gentlemen of the Road Stopover in Waverly, IA on June 20th, 2015 in the QRO Concert Photo Gallery

Click here for photos of Mumford & Sons at MCU Park in Brooklyn, NY on June 2nd, 2015 in the QRO Concert Photo Gallery

Click here for photos of Mumford & Sons at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, NY on August 28th, 2013 in the QRO Concert Photo Gallery

Click here for photos of Mumford & Sons at 2013 Osheaga Music Festival in Montreal, PQ, Canada in the QRO Concert Photo Gallery

Click here for photos of Mumford & Sons at Austin360 in Austin, TX on June 8th, 2013 in the QRO Concert Photo Gallery

Click here for photos of Mumford & Sons at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY on February 12th, 2013 in the QRO Concert Photo Gallery

Click here for photos of Mumford & Sons at Louisville Waterfront in Louisville, KY on August 13th, 2012 in the QRO Concert Photo Gallery

Click here for QRO’s review of Mumford & Sons at Castle Hill in Greenhead Park, Huddersfield on June 2nd, 2012

Click here for QRO’s review of Mumford & Sons at iHeartRadio Theater in New York, NY on April 13th, 2011

Click here for photos of Mumford & Sons at 2010 Haldern Pop Music Festival in Rees-Haldern, Germany in the QRO Concert Photo Gallery

Click here for photos of Mumford & Sons at 2010 Sasquatch! Music Festival in George, WA in the QRO Concert Photo Gallery

Arena gigs can be less than wholly satisfactory events, with large sections of the crowd getting a poor view from the oxygen-starved heights of the bowl and scant interaction between performers and audience. So the announcement by Mumford & Sons that their new stage design would allow them to play in the round, bringing all sections of the crowd into proximity with the band was warmly welcomed by many concertgoers.

Unfortunately, they haven’t had much luck so far, and technical and logistical challenges have forced the cancellation of several shows but their First Direct Arena gig in Leeds on Saturday, December 1st escaped the chop, partly one suspects because the semi-circular auditorium could never have accommodated playing in the round anyway.

The new stage was there, filling the width of the arena, with raised ends that can be reached by steps, giving the whole apparatus the appearance of a dismasted galleon with poops fore and aft. Above the deck floated huge banks of lights which moved, tilted and pivoted to create some stunning effects, particularly when they came in low to create a surprisingly intimate tented effect, which suited the music very nicely.

With their most recent album, Delta, riding high in the charts, the Mumfords are on a roll, the Arena was packed, and the challenge for the band was to marry the diverse styles from their expanding catalogue into a coherent whole. That they did so is a tribute to their onstage charisma and that they were clearly having a great time. There was a second drummer tucked away in a cavern stage right and various other musicians, including horns, keys and violins, who filled out the sound without distracting from the well-loved Mumford set up, but it wasn’t too radical a development, and the fans got exactly what they came for – a high energy hootenanny for a digital age.

The Mumfords are pretty much a Marmite band (not sure what that is in American – it means a band that divides opinion strongly), but you’d have needed a heart of stone not to respond to the sheer joyful exuberance of their performance, and although there was only the four of them on a wide stage, and they remained pretty static throughout (except during “Ditmas”, when Marcus Mumford went for a wander through the crowd with hapless security trailing in his wake), they delivered a show that was bursting with energy and goodwill.

Almost inevitably it was the old favourites like “The Cave” and “Little Lion Man” that draw the biggest cheers, but the songs from the new album got a warm welcome from a crowd who spent most of the night up on their feet and dancing. Marcus Mumford made himself popular with his praise for Leeds and his memories of the town where he first saw cocaine. By the end of the night he had probably been made an honorary son of Leeds.

Mumford & Sons

Marcus MumfordThe banjo was back, but it didn’t dominate the arrangements and Winston Marshall frequently switched to the guitar. For my money it was the material from Wilder Mind (QRO review) that came across best, with “Tompkins Square Park” being the highlight of the night, but most of the crowd seemed to prefer the more up tempo stuff. Maryland based folk pop singer & opener Maggie Rogers (QRO photos) joined the band for an invigorating version of “Beloved”, and the evening ended with foot-stomping performances of “I Will Wait” and “Delta”, which had everybody on their feet and making the arena rattle before we all headed out into the cold.

Mumford & Sons

Categories
Concert ReviewsSlider
Album of the Week