Photo credit: Kathryn T.
Though unsuccessful in the invitation lottery for the Mumford & Sons concert pre-sale and the lightening fast sell-out of the general sale, this reviewer managed to buy some tickets from the box office on the day of the May 21st Calgary concert at the Saddledome. Thanks to a stage reconfiguration (or perhaps some unused corporate tickets) the seats were down low, in the first section by the stage. They afforded some great views of the action on stage, as well as the bustle of the crew down to the side. It definitely takes a lot of well-choreographed moving pieces to successfully pull off a show of this magnitude.
This was the first time this Grammy-award winning “new-folk” band from England had come to Calgary and not surprisingly, many fans were waiting in the long lines for t-shirts during the opening acts. Also from England and in Calgary for the first time were the two opening acts: first up was Mystery Jets, who graciously warmed up the crowd with their often psychedelic-influenced progressive rock. Next was soul-singer Michael Kiwanuka, who did a lovely Jimi Hendrix cover and some songs from his critically acclaimed debut album, “Home Again”. Kiwanuka’s sound is a throwback to another era, and the likes of Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding; but unlike those big names, he noted that this is the biggest place he’s ever played. Having heard him before in a dead silent, small club in San Francisco, it is pretty safe to say that that is the preferred kind of venue to take in this amazing talent.
The concert crew looked a little tense as they prepared and waited for the first show of the Mumford & Sons “Summer Stampede 2013, Calgary to Telluride” tour. The four founding members of the band started off quietly with the title track from their sophomore album, “Babel”. They were soon joined on stage by more performers that eventually topped out at ten artists making music together on some of the songs throughout the night. It was great to see all the horns, strings, keys and percussion, both big and small, played by highly professional musicians who looked like they were having the time of their lives. For such a large venue, the sound was pretty impressively well-balanced.
The lighting team also did a fantastic job in their role. Many Mumford & Sons songs have outdoor/nature references and the colour, type and movement of the different lights fit well with the lyrical themes. Many subtle, beautiful visual effects, such as rain pouring down were created by the lights and helped enhance the moods of the songs. On “Awake My Soul”, various yellow lights were used in such a way as to evoke images of dawn and the waves of green undulating through the lines strung from the ceiling during “Ghosts That We Knew” were haunting indeed. Screens above the stage were also a nice addition, with live video close-ups, frequently shown in sepia-tones.
Well into their set, Marcus Mumford remarked that they “normally have to tell people to stand up but you all f—— stood up”. It is hard to believe anyone would be seated at any point in a Mumford & Sons concert, let alone during barn-barners such as “Little Lion Man” but it seemed that most of the crowd in Calgary had been on their feet since the first notes were played. Mumford & Sons really let loose on their faster songs. “Dust Bowl Dance” got particularly rowdy with Ben Lovett knocking off the seat of his piano stool as he stood up to play and tossing his microphone at the end.
For the encore, there was a mini-stampede from the people on the floor who followed the Mumford four-some over to the back stage. The lively crowd was told, “If you’re not quiet, we’ll go away and not come back”. It was difficult for everyone to remain hushed during the acoustic cover of Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire” and their own harmony-rich “Sister” and once back on the main stage, Mumford joked, “It seemed like you weren’t going to shut up, and then you did and it was one of most beautiful moments we’ve had”. The enthusiastic crowd was rewarded with the roaring send off, “The Cave”.