Mumford & Sons seemed absolutely abashed by the consequence of their own anniversary in Portland, Maine yesterday. In the backward afternoon, keyboardist Ben Lovett and bassist Ted Dwane sat on a blooming acropolis overlooking the city's Casco Bay, smoker cigarettes and account at added than 15,000 admirers arranged into to the city's sprawling Eastern Promenade. "There's no way if you alpha out as a band, you anticipate you'd end up accepting here," said Lovett. "This is addition akin of activity experience."
"You can never achievement for this," added Dwane. "I accept you could dream of it, but we didn't even cartel to dream of this. It's so weird."
Mumford, Dawes, St. Vincent and the Dropkick Murphys were a part of the acts who played yesterday's Gentlemen of the Road U.S. stopover, one of four festivals Mumford & Sons are captivation in baby cities throughout the country this month. It was Portland's better agreeable accident in years, banishment artery closures on the East End of the peninsula while bounded media went into overdrive. It was even appear that the bandage would be anticipation a house-decorating challenge – they didn't plan to, but homeowners on Munjoy Acropolis still decked out their homes in acceptable signs, flags and assets of mustached faces with top hats. One abode congenital a behemothic apish baiter announcement the band's name. It was account it, as the bandage comatose several of the homes during the day Saturday, accepting the key to the city-limits from the Mayor of Portland on someone's porch.
The bandage spent the absolute weekend assimilation up New England culture. On Friday, they played a sweaty, chargeless in-store set at the bounded Bull Moose Music, wandered the Old Port, chowed on lobster at J's Oyster Bar and boarded a baiter to bout the anchorage with bounded fishermen. "They talked us through the history," said Lovett. "I abstruse how acceptable of activity they accept in abounding ways. Pete, who endemic the boat, wasn't too anxious in some of the problems that face humans in the bigger cities – not freaking out about blitz hour and amusing life. He just does his thing. It's consistently acceptable to be reminded of that."
The adorning never stopped. Dwane paused our account to aberrate into the army to analysis out an aerial set from London rockers Maccabees. In the foreground pit, he went about 30 abnormal afore accepting swarmed, demography several photos, signing tickets and badinage with athrill fans. Soon, he aloof to the band's black bathrobe area, affairs his derby hat over his face for a nap.
For Lovett, it was a hard-earned day of celebration. "We played a shitload of gigs," he said. "We don't feel it was just the anthology [Sigh No More]. We spent 2007 to 2012 arena gigs non-stop, which has helped us body a career."
One of the day's highlights was St. Vincent; Annie Clark won over the army with afire garage-rock riffs over dance-y grooves, bawl affective cuts like "Cruel," and active her easily beyond the guitar neck, bearing addictive octave-shifting fuzz.
Dawes' L.A. folk harmonies fit appropriate in. The bandage had bent an early-morning flight from Lollapalooza in Chicago that day, but frontman Taylor Goldsmith bounced beyond the stage, arena baking solos amid big hooks on "Fire Away" and "When My Time Comes." The bandage will be aperture for Mumford for the blow of the month. "We're acquirements how to play to bigger crowds, and it's not easy," said Taylor Goldsmith with a grin. "These are the better shows we've anytime played."
And in a authentic New England twist, Boston's Dropkick Murphys were added to the anniversary bill at the endure minute. "We go anywhere we're invited," said frontman Al Barr. The bandage accursed through their set of abundant Irish punk, including a fist-pumping singalong of "Sunshine Highway," a Springsteen-y new song and "The Irish Rover." Their better moment? If the army stomped during the abundant dabble breakdown of "I'm Shipping Up To Boston," best accepted from The Departed soundtrack.
The army aberration hit a new akin as Mumford took the stage. The bandage decidedly opened up with quiet unreleased new clue "Lover's Eyes," which seems to cope with sins accomplished afterwards adolescent adulation gone wrong. But the bandage had no agitation bushing up the behemothic space; abaft their old-timey angel and acoustic folk chart are some of pop's better hooks. This was axiomatic during "Little Lion Man," as the army aggressively howled forth to the curve "I absolutely fucked it up this time / didn't I my dear?"
New numbers "I Will Wait" and "Lover of the Light" affronted into big sing-alongs, the closing alpha as a quiet barge but exploding if Marcus Mumford sat abaft a boom kit and thrashed abroad while a horn area blared. "This is one of the best canicule I anticipate we've anytime had," Marcus said as the sun was setting.
Despite the blissful setting, Marcus seemed absorbed on befitting complete the affect on the band's records; during "Dust Bowl Dance" his eyes looked focused and affronted as he snarled, "You are my accuser, now attending in my face / Your abuse reeks of your acquisitiveness and disgrace." The bandage harmonized on new clue "Ghosts That We Knew," a addictive appeal for a able lover in harder times.
During the behemothic sing-along of "The Cave," Dwane captivated his standup bass over his arch while Winston stomped and best abroad on his banjo furiously. Then, the bandage arrive all of the day's performers onstage for "The Weight," with Dawes' Griffin Goldsmith nailing Levon Helm's boom canal while Taylor Goldsmith sang the additional ballad soulfully with actuality inflections, arena a adapted abandoned as Marcus Mumford watched in awe.
Afterward, the army agitated into Portland's Old Port and Arts District for at atomic 5 afterwards parties at clubs throughout the town; the Dropkick Murphys played the State Theatre, Mumford's Lovett DJ'd at the Space Gallery while Winston Marshall hosted an accessible affair at the Big Easy. "It can get backbreaking advance your affection and body in the places that we visit," Lovett said. "But we do."
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