The iconic Leadmill in Sheffield was a fitting host for Marcus Mumford, the lead singer of Mumford and Sons, who brought with him his debut solo album on which was the first date of his UK tour.
The historic venue provided not only the opportunity for us as fans to see Marcus in such an intimate venue, but also for him to perform his delicate, beautiful…. yet hugely emotive album in full in a setting that was just perfect.
His album, (self-titled) released a couple of months before, brought a new venture for Marcus, usually flanked by his “sons”, he created a hugely personal album, with an entirely open and emotional story behind it. He openly portrays matters relating to sexual abuse as a child and what is ultimately a dark subject, the album takes us as listeners, and no doubt him through a journey of healing and freedom.
His first track – Cannibal, is no doubt a hard and sensitive listen….. ultra-powerful lyrics detail his feelings in a way that only he could write, but is clearly a story he wishes to tell all. Recruiting a certain Steven Spielberg to direct his accompanying video…. certainly goes some way to get the song out there!
“You took the first slice of me and you ate it raw”…….. the lyrics do hit hard.
The album tenderly flows impeccably, 10 songs in total and completes with “How”. An astonishing duet with Brandi Carlisle, which appears to bring the story…. his story to an end….. a sense of the freedom Marcus wished for….. a forgiveness which is summed up perfectly throughout.
And with all that laid out, Marcus beautifully captured this story live, playing the album in full… but not before he gives us a sparkle of Mumford and Sons, with Awake my Soul and The Cave dutifully kicking off the night in style.
Marcus also took the opportunity to play I Will Wait, another Mumford and Sons favourite….. without speakers or a microphone….. he just played. All in attendance respectfully joined in with him, restraining no doubt trying not to blast out the words over him early on…. which inevitably did happen towards the end. All of us joining in with the finale of the song in a joyful moment and the chance to share with Marcus.
Without sounding clichéd, Marcus appeared to be loving it on stage…. stating how great it was to play small venues and it equally was for us to not have to pay a small fortune for the pleasure either.
The set ended with a right old sign off…. the full band joining in with Marcus and playing a cover from Taylor Swift and two songs of The New Basement Tapes – the penned Supergroup which includes Marcus Mumford himself.
It would be hard to not make reference to the undeniable quality of Marcus’s voice and musicianship at this gig. Having seen him play with Mumford and Sons a fair few times, seeing him in this intimate venue, his performance was beyond beautiful. His voice can be so powerful, yet gentle, so loud yet soft… all reinforced by his remarkable talents on the guitar and his song-writing craft. He is incredible to witness him doing what he does…. live.
It was an honour to attend this gig and to listen to his story. There are few gigs that you can walk away from and feel so fortunate to have been there. The fact that it was held at the Leadmill, only made it more exceptional. A huge nod to the special place…. still under threat of closure and is something that we simply cannot let happen. I truly hope that the venue gets to host these superb artists for many more years to come and I for one will be supporting them all the way.
Add comment
Comments