Last night, my boyfriend and I went to see Mumford and Sons at the Apollo in Manchester. I bought the tickets as a present for his 21st birthday, so we made it an all day event and went for a meal at Cafe Rouge (which was delicious!) and then drinks in a few places, including Apotheca and Dry Bar in the Northern Quarter. The cocktail I had in Apotheca was luminous green and in a massive glass, and despite being very sweet, was fruity and refreshing.
The support acts for the gig were Johnny Flynn & the Sussex Wit and Matthew And The Atlas; but we both decided to give these guys a miss so we could chill out for a while longer in Manchester. At around eight o'clock we headed to the venue, which is a fair walk from Piccadilly station, and arrived at the right time as we walked straight in with no queues. The second support had just finished, so we managed to sneak in quite near the front of the stage while people retreated to fill up their pint glasses.
Mumford and Sons came on fifteen minutes before they were scheduled, so I'm glad we didn't cut it fine! They opened on Sigh No More, the opening and title track of the album, and they prolonged the introduction so people were really anticipating the surge of energy halfway through the song.
The next hour and a half was a blur of amazingness! The atmosphere was electric, with people singing along to every song whether well known or an unreleased album track. Being such a new band, I was unsure how they would fill the stage time, but they played a couple of new songs (all of which sounded true to their original sound, and beautiful as ever) as well as creating a great rapport with the audience, joking and seeming humble and approachable, a rare quality in modern bands who seem to think that being arrogant and rude will gain you respect.
For Winter Winds and a couple of others they had a full brass ensemble to accompany, and there were also numerous other instruments that appeared throughout the gig, played by people tucked away at the back of the stage, yet still in the audiences vision. The whole band's talent is unmistakably clear. Not only did they all have great charm and charisma, each one individually addressing the crowd at some point, but they all seemed to be quite comfortable playing any of the instruments available to them, and all with terrific skill. Perhaps the true test of their command of music was near the end of the concert, where they did a complete
ly acoustic song, with no microphones, amplifiers or backing musicians. It was haunting listening to them unaided, as the harmony of each of their voices was pitch perfect, and the audience remained in complete silence so as to hear each and every word.
This gig was honestly fantastic. My expectations were pretty high from hearing about their past performances at Leeds Fest and Glastonbury from friends, but they were exceeded immensely, and everything from the set list, to the lighting effects, whole band personality and the venue (which I think is one of Manchester's best for music) was spot on and more. And they played Dustbowl Dance, which is slowly creeping into my list of best songs in the world ever. I would buy tickets to see them again in a heartbeat.
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