If
a tweenie-bopper girl were asked what the most wonderful things in life are,
she would probably reply with a mixture of answers, including “Justin Bieber”,
“Europe”, and “One Direction”.
If
a tweenie-bopper boy is asked what the most wonderful things in life are, I
honestly have no idea as to how he would respond, but I can imagine that his
response would include such things as “Axe”, “Beyoncé”, and “football”.
If
any sample of the young adult through senior population (by this I mean roughly
13 years old and up, up, and away) were asked what the most wonderful things in
life are, the answers would most likely contain a smattering of such wise
suggestions like “love”, “friendship”, “happiness”, “British accents”, “British
music”, and “concerts for British all-male bands (with British accents)”.
Being
completely honest, I went with stereotypes for the first two scenarios listed
above. But, being honest yet again, I must tell you that I was completely
honest when listing some things that music-savvy American men and women enjoy
beyond anything else. All of these wonderful things occurred last night—and are
occurring again tonight—at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Yes, indeed—Mumford and Sons is in Colorado!
Their
concert last night was by far the friendliest and one of the most fantastic
concerts that I have ever seen. Aside from the band’s hearty supply of British
accents, British man candy, and what is most likely Britain’s most highly
concentrated grouping of good looks in a set of four individuals, Mumford and
Sons brings heart, spirit, passion, and quality MUSIC to our gorgeous red
rocks. This concert actually made me feel proud to be a Coloradan; this band
chose our concert venue as their last stop on their concert tour. What a
compliment.
The
Mumfies, as their warm-up bands call them, treat all their guests in the
audience to an intense, genuine, and beautiful performance. They set the mood
right: their accents, quirky-yet-fashionable clothing, and love of music show
that they are genuine, relatively humble, and talented. They amp up the energy
and anticipation: song #2 in their concert order is Little Lion Man (you know
the lyrics—“And it was not your fault but mine, and it was your heart on the
line, I really f***ed it up this time, didn’t I my dear?), and they scatter in
songs from their new album, Babel, in between hits and quieter songs from Sigh
No More. And, of course, they deliver. Boy, do they deliver!! The singing was
heart-reaching, the banjo-strumming was simply exciting and delightful, and the
harmonizing that the singers (which is really each member of the band) create
is perfectly on tune—the lead singer actually takes off his headset to
harmonize so that he hits the perfect pitch.
They’re
the sort of band who are even better live than on a record because they are too
good and far too real to be auto-tuned. Besides, with a husky British voice
like that, who would ever want to
auto-tune those notes away?
The
concert was stellar on a personal and emotional level as well. The crowd was
relaxed, casual, comfortable, and happy.
The people were happy in a different way than the people at Lady Gaga and Katy
Perry concerts; rather than stoked and riding high on either some hardcore drug
or a film of euphoria that comes from complete devotion to an artist, Mumfie
fans (while often still on some substance or other) let the band and the venue
pump them up. Mumford and Sons had to earn our love and screaming and wild
singing—and they definitely earned it! (Take my nearly non-existent voice as
proof)
Perhaps
the best way to impart to you how wonderful they truly are is to illustrate it
through clothing. I bought a $40 tank top that says Mumford & Sons London
on it at the concert last night. I adore this shirt so much that I believe it
deserves every penny I paid for it, tax included. And FYI I have NEVER bought a
$40 tank top in my life. Plus, it’s super soft and awesome-looking. I highly
recommend it.
Another
fascinating aspect of the Red Rocks concert was the people watching. There were
big people, small people, hippies, punk rockers, parents, couples, college
students, high school students, and far more admirers who are out of their
twenties than you might think. In fact, two of my mother and my favorite fans
were two rows ahead of us.
These
special fans were two women with an obscure fetish: making food. We watched,
giggled, and commentated on the culinary prowess/insanity of these two women.
They were both short-haired blondes in long skirts with large bags of groceries
carefully positioned behind them. One woman took so much delight in serving her
food that we were certain she’d toss her make-shift arugula salad onto several
rows of men next to her. Unfortunately, this did not happen. We simply had to settle for gawking as
they… organized mini pieces of bread onto Tupperware containers, set mini
pieces of mozzarella onto each piece with a two-inch flourish, flicked and
tapped slices of tomato into place upon each piece of cheese, pressed a leaf of
basil onto each tomato slice, sprinkled a spot of pepper onto each basil leaf,
drizzled olive oil (from one of their eight mini Tupperware containers) onto
each mini pizza-like bit of sustenance, and, finally, licked every piece of
misplaced food, whether it was on a lip, hand, or bicep (Yes, one woman licked
her entire arm. I do wonder what she was thinking.).
We
were so in tune with these women that, when one of them couldn’t find her seat
during the concert after getting up, we told her exactly where she needed to
go—and prayed that she didn’t seem suspicious of our slightly stalker-like
behavior.
But
it was totally all right—because Mumford and Sons were there. <3
The
audience members were also super kind and friendly. When my mother and I tried
to leave early (our idea was to begin walking to the parking lot as they played
their last song), a die-hard fan stopped us, exclaiming, “You can’t leave
before The Cave!!!”
We
acquiesced and stayed for The Cave—and it was a great decision on our part.
This woman turned out to be the nicest fan I’ve ever met, and the most
interesting; she told us how at a different venue where Mumford and Sons had
played a few years ago, she’d paid $125 to see them play for 47 ½ minutes (but
who’s counting?)—rather than the several hours we got at Red Rocks. Bargain and
awesome experience of a lifetime? I think YES!
So
we stayed for The Cave amid excited and singing fans, video cameras, and
ecstatic cheering J
The
red rock surroundings added even more to everyone’s excitement and energy;
Mumford and Sons uses a classic set with blinking-lights as their only props,
and these red, blue, yellow, and purple lights complimented the red rocks
beautifully. For the song Dust Bowl Dance, which is by far their most intense,
hardcore rock song, the lights even went out
for a time!
The
rocks also provide fantastic acoustics. Red Rocks is a different kind of loud
than other venues. Red Rocks Loud is when the sound echoes off the rocks around
you and provides a natural “surround sound” system. This kind of loud, if
you’ll pardon the pun, rocks! Especially when you’re being dramatically gifted
with Mumford and Sons music from all directions!
Last
night was an especially unique performance because at Red Rocks and Red Rocks
only is Mumford and Sons filming their live concerts. Perhaps we’ve all been
immortalized, cheering and screaming to Mumford and Sons in Red Rocks
Amphitheatre!
When
the Mumfies finished up with their own songs with The Cave at the end, there
was a surprise for the audience: confetti! And I warn you, Mumford and Sons
confetti is the best kind of confetti there is. It’s huge, it’s plentiful, and
it’s floating and dancing about in the air as they are playing their music!!!!!
I proudly kept the pieces that landed on me as keepsakes.
It’s
safe to say that I am more inspired than ever to learn how to play the banjo!
I
highly recommend purchasing Babel, their new album, which comes out in the
second half of September. While keeping with their classic sound—banjo,
harmonizing, quality lyrics, and great voices—Mumford and Sons still has a
flair that they show off in this new album. In case you haven’t already, check
out the single I Will Wait for a taste of the songs on the new album. It will
be hard to create another album full of hits like Sigh No More, but if anyone
can do it, Mumford can!
In
case you do not know many Mumford and Sons songs, here are some of my favorite
lyrics! I think perhaps the reason I love this band so much is that their
lyrics are soulfelt, poetic, emotional, and real. It truly is poetry set to
song.
“Love
will not betray you, dismay, or enslave you, it will set you free to be more
like the man you were made to be!”—Sigh No More
“And
I find strength in pain, and I will change my ways—I’ll know my name as it’s
cold again.”—The Cave
“Get
over your hill and see what you find there, with grace in your heart and
flowers in your hair.”—After the Storm
“My
head told my heart ‘let love go’, but my heart told my head ‘this time no’.”—Winter
Winds
“Yes
sir indeed. I know what I’ve done because I know what I’ve seen.”—Dust Bowl
Dance
“Stars, hide your fires. These here are my desires, and I will give them up to you—this time around. And so I’ll be found, with my stake stuck in this ground, marking the territory of this newly impassioned soul!”--Roll Away Your Stone
“Stars, hide your fires. These here are my desires, and I will give them up to you—this time around. And so I’ll be found, with my stake stuck in this ground, marking the territory of this newly impassioned soul!”--Roll Away Your Stone
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| My Mumford and Sons doodle! |
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