Mumford & Sons in Zurich - 16 May 2016

Mumford & Sons are phenomenal - this is an undisputed truth. I first heard of the four-man band in 2012, at the age of 15. I was immediately hooked after listening to The Cave and booked tickets to see them at a concert in Bern. It just so happens that these tickets were set for May 16th - who knew I would be listening to them again on the exact same date, four years later, in Zürich's Hallenstadion.

Over the past four years a lot has changed for the band, most significantly their musical style. To my surprise, Mumford & Sons decided to step away from the folk scene in favour of what I would call a more alternative rock style, as is apparent on their most recent album Wilder Minds. Despite this change, the band have managed to maintain the charisma and panache which first grasped the ears of their fans. Although The Cave and Little Lion Man will remain two of my absolute favorites, I must admit that the band's recent releases such as Broad-Shouldered Beasts, Ditmas and Tompkins Square Park are class acts and really caught my attention.

As for the concert, Mumford & Sons once again proved themselves to be the ultimate live performers. Whilst certain artists require voice-altering studio witchcraft to create a passable sound, Mumford & Sons produce this level of quality with ease, and more importantly, naturally. Singing and musical skill aside, the group are born performers, occasionally engaging in banter with the audience and personalising each concert.

In Zurich, Marcus Mumford ran through the whole crowd at one point and emerged back on the stage unharmed albeit exhausted after running an entire lap of the arena. Which just goes to show the level of enthusiasm the band still have for music and performing.

In addition to this, the band was escorted through the crowd and led to a "B" stage where they performed a couple of songs all huddled around a single microphone. Reminiscent of a campfire knees-up, this portion of the event was a great touch.

Although some of the audience members in the stands stayed seated for most of the concert, the group managed to get them all up with a bit of Little Lion Man and I Will Wait. Despite the sitters, the crowd had a fantastically warm energy and thoroughly appreciated every song the band performed.

We were also in for a treat at the very end, when the band gave us a taste of unreleased song Forever. As Marcus Mumford phrased it: "we don’t know what this is".

It's obvious that I am a fan of the band and therefore have a biased view. But I do encourage all of the readers to see the group live, and maybe then my reasons for loving the phenomenal Mumford & Sons will become apparent.

- Harrison Wisson

 

Setlist:

Snake Eyes

Little Lion Man

Tompkins Square Park

Believe

Broad-Shouldered Beasts

Lover Of The Light

Broken Crown

Ghosts That We Knew

Wilder Mind

The Cave

Ditmas

Dust Bowl Dance

 

B Stage:

Timshel

Cold Arms

 

Main Stage:

Hot Gates

Sigh No More

I Will Wait

The Wolf

 

Encore:

Forever

(Source: setlist.fm)