Mumford and Sons are in that odd place between a massively successful debut album and that tricky second, so fair play to them for having the balls to go out on the road.
The Gentleman of the Road Tour is partly about the music and partly about visiting offbeat places like Huddersfield ‘s Victorian Greenhead Park to pump some much needed brass into this struggling Pennine town.
I’ve never been a huge fan of Mumford and Sons’ brand of faux-folk, but there is no doubting their relentless touring of ‘Sign No More’ has turned them into a well drilled live act with a fan base who love them.
But let’s not pretend they have anything much to do with British folk as they clearly look across to the pond to Americana and Springsteen’s take on US folk.
Kicking off with Lovers Eyes the merry crowd shrugged off the light drizzle and spring cold to get their dancing shoes on from the off. When the boys launched into the insanely catchy Little Lion Man mid set it was like a ceilidh for bad dancers who sort of understand Mumford are folk, but don’t quite get what that means.
As you might expect from well brought up young men the four lads are charming and they needed it as they debuted songs from their new album due in September. Sadly despite the quality of the new songs they rather lost the audience, and they knew it craving the crowd’s ‘indulgence’ for another newbie.
The good news for Mumford fans is they haven’t turned into a death metal band , but they have gone electric. I half expected cries of ‘Judas’ to ring round the site before realising few of the crowd would be familiar with that seminal moment in folk.
Best of the new songs was the well constructed folk pop of Below My Feet which made the best use of Mumford and Sons trademark tight four part harmonies, a great brass section and the strings. They showcased a new version of an old song Whispers in the Dark that is likely to be on the new album.
But like all clever live acts they rounded off their set with oldies Sigh No More and The Cave to send their adoring fans home happy.
It’s easy to sneer at the good intentions of Mumford and Sons but they should be commended for this philanthropic tour, and all the signs are their second album will help them crack the American market, so next time they play Huddersfield it is likely to be in the nearby Galpharm rugby stadium.
I know very little about Mumford & Sons, other than that they played about 300 yards from my house on Saturday night and I could hear very little of it, even with the door open. So they must be pretty quiet.
I’d just like to take issue at your description of Huddersfield as a “struggling Pennine town”. In what way is Huddersfield struggling beyond the ways everywhere else in the country, particularly the north, is struggling at the moment? This reads like a jibe by someone who thinks Metropolitan Leeds is the centre of the universe. It’s not very helpful, really.
Oh, and they play football as well as rugby at the Galpharm Stadium……
An from what my folks who live in Brighouse tell me, they have done rather well this season too.