Music I Love: Mumford & Sons

I will fully admit I am probably the last person to find out about Mumford & Sons.  (My husband is the indie audiophile; I need my sister and Ryan Seacrest to tell me what's up on the Billboard Top 40.)  

I'd heard their name tossed around the house without really listening. It wasn't until the Grammy's when I really took notice. I LOVED their performance of The Cave. Who ARE these Brits banging away on their guitars and that weird ol' banjo? WHY does their name sound like a store selling men's oxford shirts? What's up with the crazy harmony? They sound awesome!

 

 

If you haven't heard their Grammy performance, it's worth a listen.

So I got to see them live at Merriweather Post last night.  They are amazing live. The energy! The sound! They sound exactly like they do on the album! Except with an overtrack of screaming fans. Don't believe me?  Check out their performance of The Cave last night (excuse the shaky footage; recording is harder than it looks!)

Awesome, right?  I hate when bands sound like crap in concert. I love when they sound just like - or better than - they do on the album.  Mumford sounded so much better live - it's amazing how they harmonize with each other.  And they're just SO FUN! At one point, Marcus (the eponymous Mumford) and the (very nicely muscled) keyboard player had a mini jig-off. Then everyone around me was jigging in their seats. I've never jigged a day in my life but God help me, I was jigging, too!

They played the whole album, plus a few new songs which sound promising!  I read somewhere that Marcus gets a lot of his inspiration from literature - Sigh No More is a reference to Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, and Dust Bowl Dance draws inspiration from John Steinbeck (East of Eden, Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men.)  Before they hit it big, they would play shows at indie bookstores. LE SIGH - a bookshop band after my literary heart!

Can't wait for them to record a new album then get back on the road again :)