Photo: Richard Gray
When Mumfords started gaining their arena status, many were doubtful that their acoustic instruments (with added kick drum, admittedly) could fill up these halls with the same reverberated grace as U2 and Coldplay. New material from Wilder Mind produces moments meant for those big spaces, but older material from their debut and 2012's Babel are given a second life in this setting.
The four piece, with their additional drummer begin their set with ‘Snake Eyes’, which is quickly succeeded by the 2012 single ‘I Will Wait’ - which instantly sees the O2 Arena jump to their feet in harmony. Mumford's uncanny raspy vocal is called right back to the group in amongst its mariachi-like climax, the frontman beams and shouts, “We’ve been round and round but it sure feels good to be home!”
Newbie ‘Broad Shouldered Beasts’ is a throwback to their acoustic-folk beginnings, with an entrancing coda which brings imagery of the Manhattan skyline to London. The group go on to air songs from their debut such as ‘Awake My Soul’. They also throw in the doomy ‘Thistle and Weeds’ which ends in a discordant whirl of distortion and feedback of epic proportions.
It seems the crowd yearn for the older waistcoat-clad, banjo plucked tunes of before - though their electrified new material does add a different ingredient to the mix. Whilst the material provides some of the highlights of the night, they also produce a few lulls in the set. Some have the tendency to glaze over you, such as ‘Hot Gates’, where there isn’t much to tune in to.
Most impressive of the new material is 'Tompkins Square Park', a graceful melancholic ode to the green area in Manhattan. 'Believe' is lifted by a sparkle of mobile phones in its sparse first half, the accelerated second half is a totally different beast live. Winston Marshall's transference from banjo to electric guitar appears in leaps and bounds on this track - he possesses a George Harrison like demeanour, from his waist-length hair to his pointed Chelsea boots.
The chemistry of a group of 4 mates still bustles among them. It's easy to dismiss arena bands when they gain a following of this stature, but this is the thread which pulls them together. "I took the tube, he got a f**cking chopper in!" Winston exclaims poking fun at his frontman, “You’ve changed!”
'Ditmas' sees frontman Marcus clambering up along the side of the arena to break right through the centre of the bustling crowd. After the main set, the group pop up by the sound kit surrounding one microphone to perform 'Timshel' and 'Cold Arms', pulling off intimacy rather well in a room of 20,000 people who remained hushed throughout.
The show projects several things for Mumford & Sons. They now sit comfortably in the arena setting, and most importantly balance huge tunes with soft and intimate moments. They also have a Springsteen mentality and energy, with the show clocking in at near the 2 hour mark.
By the end, it feels like there is still material left-over to play. The show closes with the suitably epic 'Little Lion Man' which was always destined for that arena-rock choir of "AAAAHS" and 'The Wolf', which sees their energy spike furthermore in amongst its smattering of power chords and awesome lead guitar.
The group have always lived by the mindset that their “albums are previews for their live shows” - and this is totally prevalent and true tonight.
'Snake Eyes'
'I Will Wait'
'Below My Feet'
'Broad-Shouldered Beasts'
'Awake My Soul'
'Lover of the Light'
'Thistle & Weeds'
'Tompkins Square Park'
'Believe'
'Ghosts That We Knew'
'The Cave'
'Roll Away Your Stone'
'Ditmas'
'Dust Bowl Dance'
'Timshel'
'Cold Arms'
'Hot Gates'
'I'm on Fire (Bruce Springsteen cover)'
'Little Lion Man'
'The Wolf'
