repeat, repeat, repeat: mumford & sons

As a flannel wearing, indie-movie-watching, Young-Life-leading, 20-year-old college student, it's pretty much required of me to be in love with Mumford & Sons. Thankfully, their folk-rocking British selves give me a lot to love. I think Mumford, along with the Avett Brothers, are the only quasi-mainstream band that everyone is allowed to love. No matter how big they get or how many Grammys they win, it's still totally acceptable to constantly have them on repeat in your car, home or headphones.

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I got the chance to spend this Valentine's Day with them and 7,000 of my closest friends. One of my housemates had gotten us tickets, which we came to realize were separate because all of the seats together were sold out. I don't know if you've ever been to a concert by yourself, but I was pretty skeptical about it. Did I mention it was Valentine's Day? Somehow we had managed to get one ticket that was directly next to the stage, and one that... wasn't. After a lot of shuffling around between seats and people, Mumford came on around 10:00 and being by myself wasn't really a problem any more.

If you've ever seen videos of the band playing, you know that they play with everything they have. With a fairly plain set consisting mostly of lights, they opened with their sophomore album title track, Babel, and from then on I was pretty much mesmerized.
 I don't understand how Marcus Mumford, the band's frontman, can sing and play with as much power and energy as he does and be able to do that multiple nights in a row. Their passion was tangible and their joy overtook the arena. I've never seen a band who seemed to actually like each other more and who completely loved what they were playing.

The set list included favorites from both of their albums; strangely though, the set didn't include "Sigh No More," the title track from their first album. I keep trying to pick highlights but then I remember another one and I add that to the list too. Regardless, "The Cave" and "Roll Away Your Stone" were amazing; it felt as if the whole crowd was being swept away by the hopeful strains of guitar and banjo. Hopeful. I don't think that's a word often used to describe Mumford's music, but that's exactly how it sounds. I can't think of an instrumental break that gives me more hope than the one in the middle of "Lover of the Light."A good band is one that can make you feel something, anything.

After a quieter acoustic and a capella section, Ben Howard, the second opener of the night, joined them for the last song of the night, a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City." Jake Clemons, sax player in the E Street Band, happened to be there as well. It felt like I was just sitting in on a jam session, and it was awesome, and I never wanted it to end.

If at any point in your life you're wondering if its worth it to see Mumford live... it is.