Concert review: Five things to know about Mumford and Sons at BC Place
Credit to Author: Stuart Derdeyn| Date: Thu, 08 Aug 2019 06:00:06 +0000
It was a mellow night at BC Place on Wednesday. Not because the Mumford & Sons crowd is remarkably more chilled out than other audiences.
Mostly because there was so much open space in the place.
To answer the pressing question of whether chart-topping UK neo-folkies could pull off a McCartney or Taylor Swift level event; no, they cannot. The entire upper level of the arena was closed off. But an eyeball estimate of the crowd put it past a sold out Rogers Arena, so the next level up was the only option.
Perhaps an opening act with more pull than Portugal, the Man would have helped. Not that there was anything wrong with the group’s set. It played Feel It Still and people were grooving. And then they were gone.
The between-set vintage soul and pop crooner hits mix on the sound system had about as vigorous a response as the opening band. That so many very young people know the lyrics to Aretha Franklin’s I Say a Little Prayer is pretty cool.
As the banjos were tuned and bow-ties knitted, folks milled about casually. Perhaps looking for a cup of tea and cucumber sandwiches to precede the oh-so-very English folk pop of the headlining act.
Here are five highlights of the Delta tour:
Lead Singer Marcus Mumford plays the drums as Mumford & Sons perform in concert as part of their Delta Tour 2019 at BC Place, Vancouver, August 07 2019.
1 — Marcus Mumford: He is the one name on the marquee and the driving force in the music. His aggressive, percussive guitar style marries perfectly with his voice. And that gritty, plaintive and potent instrument is what the entire foundation of the music rests upon. It can move people to cry during the soulful opener Guiding Light and then bring them to their feet ripping into Little Lion Man — easily one of the top 5 M&S songs.
L-R Ted Dwane on bass and Winston Marshall on banjo perform as Mumford & Sons play in concert as part of their Delta Tour 2019 at BC Place, Vancouver, August 07 2019.
2 — Sons and second fiddles: The core of Mumford, banjo player Winston Marshall, keyboardist Ben Lovett and guitarist Ted Dwane can make a fine noise. Add in a horn section, multi-instrumentalist and keyboardist and suddenly White Blank Page becomes a full colour canvas to build upon. Even second tier songs such as Lover of the Light flew with the brass section combing on the chorus. Yes, they have adapted to arena rock without losing that initial acoustic appeal. And they also have some Coldplay grade stadium bangers like Tompkins Square Park.
Ben Lovett on keyboards performs as Mumford & Sons play in concert as part of their Delta Tour 2019 at BC Place, Vancouver, August 07 2019.
3 — Sigh No More (and the other albums): A decade out, no album resonates more with all the fans than the first one. Every single song performed from it had people freaking out and — without doubt — a tune like Awake My Soul or The Cave are just much better than anything that followed.
Marcus Mumford walks along the stage as Mumford & Sons perform in concert as part of their Delta Tour 2019 at BC Place, Vancouver, August 07 2019.
4 — Second stadium: OK, there were some patches that plodded a little (Darkness Visible), so the set could use some tightening up. But Marcus Mumford points out that this was only the second stadium the band has headlined. Given that fact, the group is reaching its goal of transitioning into much larger venues. Now people the world over can see lead banjo player face expressions projected up on giant screens. Bonus.
Ted Dwane on bass performs as Mumford & Sons play in concert as part of their Delta Tour 2019 at BC Place, Vancouver, August 07 2019.
5 — Encore: Maybe it’s just the critic that thinks stopping the show to turn around and come back out to play around five more songs can sometimes be a bit of a buzzkill compared to just keeping on performing. But it did lead to a weird spontaneous soccer chant working around the room and some really off-beat attempts at unified hand clapping. For their efforts, Wild Heart, one of the quietest songs of the evening performed around a single microphone. You could hear a pin drop. Nicely played.