Words & Images by: Tom Reilly

Mumford & Sons :: 02.11.10 :: Popscene at 330 Ritch :: San Francisco, CA

Making their San Francisco debut in the midst of their first headlining North American tour, the four lads of Mumford & Sons rocked a sold out show at Popscene at 330 Ritch in the city’s SOMA district. The group has been steadily gaining popularity over the past year since their first U.S. gigs back in the winter of 2008-09 when they were supporting fellow British folk star Laura Marling (see a recent JamBase review of Marling here). Now very much on their own, these four musicians don’t hold back for one second once they take the stage. Their show is raucous and impassioned, and all four of them look like they’re truly enjoying themselves and playing their hearts out.

Of course, they have to actually get on the stage first. At 330 Ritch this proved a lengthy process. The small club opened its doors at 9 p.m. and during a rainy night a line stretching over a block long lasted until well after ten o’clock – a testament to the young band’s sincere popularity (especially considering their debut album, Sigh No More, hadn’t even been officially released in this country). Once inside the crowd gathered intently around the small stage for another hour before finally laying eyes on Marcus Mumford and his bandmates. All grumbling about the delay turned instantly to cheers, and after a sheepish apology saying they didn’t realize there was no opening act that night the show began.

The first thing to notice about Mumford & Sons is their unique lineup – four young men standing all in a row right on the edge of the stage. From left to right were Ben Lovett on keys, frontman Marcus Mumford playing guitar and drums (at the same time), Winston Marshall on banjo and Ted Dwane playing upright bass. Set-up like this and sporting vests and collared shirts, they have the appearance of a bunch of one-man-band performers out of Mary Poppins who decided to join forces. They all sing, belting out four-part harmonies at the top of their lungs while playing the hell out of their instruments; these guys really let it rip once they get going. Mumford himself takes the lead vocal while strumming his guitar and simultaneously provides the group’s beat, stomping away on a kick drum at his feet. Keeping it mostly on the down beats and playing vigorously, Mumford’s drumming gives the band’s folk rock tunes a driving, constant rhythm that usually comes in about halfway through the song, following a quieter, ethereal opening. The songs tend to end in a barrage of violent strumming and strained voices that is nothing but joyous.

Mumford & Sons :: 02.11 :: San Francisco

They opened the night with the title track from their debut album, promising everyone that there is love out there and “it will set you free/ Be more like the man you were made to be.” Following were three of their most popular tunes, “Awake My Soul,” “Little Lion Man” and “White Blank Page.” All three were released across two EPs the group put out in 2008 and appear again on Sigh No More, which was released in the U.K. in October of 2009 and in the U.S. on February 16. “Awake My Soul” ends with the group displaying their awesome harmonies over and over, but it is “Little Lion Man” that has sent this band across the seas to fans around the world. Mumford begins the tune alone on guitar with the banjo strumming swiftly right behind him and some sparse piano chords trickling in. At the chorus the song is fully fleshed out with everyone giving it all they’ve got. But it’s the lyrics that make this song such a hit: “It was not your fault but mine/ And it was your heart on the line/ I really fucked it up this time/ Didn’t I, my dear?” There is perhaps nothing more satisfying than singing (and I mean really, truly singing your heart out), “I really fucked it up this time.” All smiles, the quartet gave us the dirtiest word in the book in its full majestic glory, and on their tongues it comes out as musical and natural as one can imagine. I’m hard pressed to come up with a better lyrical use of the F-word, (okay, “Killing in the Name Of” by Rage Against the Machine, but certainly no acoustic band does it better than Mumford).

A few new tunes made use of a full drum kit onstage, with Mumford singing and playing on the kit and the rest switching to electric instruments. There could be a lot more of this in the future, though for now they seemed to be just experimenting with it and definitely had a better effect and sound in their acoustic lineup formation.

Having come up from a show in Los Angeles, the group professed their unanimous preference for San Francisco over SoCal and made a few S.F. references, saying they loved Mrs. Doubtfire and that Mumford had bought twin acoustic guitars and introduced the one onstage as “Mary-Kate.” If you haven’t already, give “Little Lion Man” a listen and next time Mumford & Sons comes around be sure go see one of the best things to come out of the new British folk scene.

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