Gentlemen of the Road

Driving in my white VW Jetta was always fun in nice weather…(I also think I appreciate driving more now since if I’m ever in a car it’s in the back of a yellow cab). Back in the day, I'd roll down the windows, open the sunroof and blast my XM satellite radio. I'd always tune in to BBCRadio 1 (xenophile) and I would love hearing music that hasn't really been discovered yet in the US. I came across Mumford and Sons while driving one day during grad school and haven't stopped listening to them since.

Mumford has become pretty popular and thanks to my good friend Katie, I found out at the end of June that Mumford would be starting their US tour in Hoboken, NJ on August 1st. While at work I found a computer to check out the info and ticket prices only to find out the show had already sold out...No!! Upon some further Internet exploration (thank you ticket liquidator) I was able to snag two tickets to the sold out show.

Now, if you live in the New York area you’re well aware that this summer has been H-O-T and we’ve had some scattered rain and thunderstorms, but there haven’t been too many all day washouts. Well, on August 1st it POURED all day long. The concert was in Hoboken at Pier A...outside. I went to the show with my pops and he brought along very chic blue ponchos that we usually save for rainy Giants games. Much to our dismay, we didn’t need them. Luckily the clouds dispersed, and just as Mumford and Sons were about to start there was the most beautiful ray of light shining off the Manhattan skyline with a rainbow to boot.

Rainbow!

Marcus Mumford, Country Winston, Ben Lovett, and Ted Dwane are the brothers (though not by blood), which make up Mumford and Sons. Their music can be described as a combination of country, bluegrass, folk and rock. Don’t expect some computerized beats here, these guys are the real deal and play a wide variety of instruments including guitar, drums, accordion, keyboard, banjo, and string bass to name a few. A large portion of their popularity can be attributed to their genuine love of music, which emits through every musical note and lyric.

In short, the concert was amazing. Mumford played all of the songs from their first album, several songs that are on their new album (Babel - out September 24th) and Boxer, a Simon and Garfunkel cover. As the clock stuck 10:00, the band stopped playing and a 5-minute firework show erupted off of a barge on the Hudson River to end a great performance.

To me, there is nothing more special than seeing a concert outdoors on a hot summer night. Whenever these “Gentleman of the Road” come back to the area I suggest you purchase a ticket if you can, as they are definitely a band you shouldn’t miss. As the lyrics in one of the new songs proclaim…. “I will wait, I will wait for you.”