Mumford & SonsIt was a wet night in Brisbane when Mumford & Sons warmed up a full Brisbane Entertainment Centre audience for their Prizefighter World Tour. With seven years between shows, Mumford & Sons' arrival was well overdue, with six studio albums and a whole lot of catching up to cover.
The moment we have waited for comes when the interlude music fades out, replaced by a blaring Johnny Cash ringing out across the centre, with Ring of Fire cranked to full volume as the lights dim to black. The ballad continues until we switch gears to a different yet familiar country-folk sounding guitar track, and Here begins to play. Originally released with Chris Stapleton on the Prizefighter album after Marcus Mumford identified him as his "favourite vocalist in the world right now”, the track carries across the crowd.
Seeing Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, and Ted Deane bound into place on stage with their instruments in hand, as if they had been waiting impatiently since doors opened, has everyone surging forward in the mosh or on their feet in the stalls. From the very start, we are reminded just how fun and relatable the trio are, with their South London origin feeling all too similar to our own playful reputation as an Australian audience.
“If you’re in one of those seats, you can stand up and have a dance. Don’t worry about the person behind you, just don’t be a dickhead. We didn’t come here to fuck around,” Marcus Mumford tells us.
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“We've always recognised that Australia is a big part of our success outside of the UK. I feel like we have the relationship where I can slag you off and it’s all good cause we are mates. At some point tonight, I might call you all c*nts, and that’s fine because we are mates,” he joked with the audience.
Performing for two hours across 24 songs, the folk rock group flexed their illustrious discography, with so many hits, new and old, taking on a new life live. Their recent Prizefighter record comes just one year after their RUSHMERE record, but prior to that, there was a seven-year hiatus in released music, and it is a unique joy to have extensive, beloved music, as well as two new batches to draw from in their curated setlist.
When I Will Wait was played as the third track, there was an undeniable shock that they would play arguably their best-known song so early, but we quickly learned that there were many other hits to come, with equal adoration and reception.
Badlands (originally released with Gracie Abrams on the album) was performed with haunting beauty, the emotive song rippling through the crowd, with minimal lighting and video used to capture the song's stark words. Lover of the Light was the antidote to that melancholy, with Marcus’s urgent guitar work and cries making it a standout song of the show, made even more special with the signature banjo work, impressive backing vocals and three-piece brass band.
With two Melbourne shows under their belt already, Mumford & Sons are both confident and earnest in their approach, admitting more than a few times that they were going to give something a try, that something had not been practised yet, and then playing up to a minute of a song before stopping and telling us they jumped ahead.
“Oh no, we’ve fucked up here. Sorry, folks, we just fucked that one up. That’s live music, isn’t it?” he reasoned to an audience that would be happy with any setlist and order.
The group, and specifically Marcus, are known for their stunts and unpredictable behaviour when performing, and Brisbane was treated to a rogue Marcus who ran off the stage and into every single section of the seated areas while singing Ditmas. So quick that we had to be checking the video screens at the front of the stadium to see where he was at any given time, he finally finished his run of the seated area before jumping the fence into general admission and tearing up to the front of the stage to be pulled over the barricade by security and back onto the stage.
Moments like this, and their candid chat, made every audience member feel connected to the fun, and it’s not every day that those seated in the very back row of the nosebleeds get a selfie or a cuddle with the artist.
They challenged expectations once again when they finished the first half of their show, and then relocated to Stage B, which was right in front of the mixing and sound desks at the back of general admission. This tiny little stage had only one microphone, with Marcus joking that, while he knew it was impossible to tell Australians to shut up, they were going to have to try not to make a sound as the band leaned over the one microphone.
Stage B was magic to watch, with the simplicity of the small stage and one mic really demonstrating the power of their sound. The lads invited support artists Folk Bitch Trio back to the stage, and the six artists played Rubber Band Man together, with Folk Bitch Trio taking on the vocals Hozier sings on their Prizefighter album.
The near-silent arena listening to Rubber Band Man was a goosebump moment, with the spell broken by a punter yelling that they should do a shoey.
“I love that the Australian response to that is ‘do a shoey,” Marcus laughed.
Folk Bitch Trio was one of the supports for Mumford & Sons last night, and they were an absolute hit, and had the audience eating out of the palm of their hand by the time their short but hypnotising set finished.
Inspired by Stevie Nicks and Florence and the Machine with their look and talent, they had a beautiful, pared-back stage presence. When they finished, they told us, “This is our third arena show. Our first two were for Mumford & Sons in Melbourne. Yeah, the girls, take care of each other and enjoy Mumford & Sons. Free Palestine,” they said.
Mumford & Sons will continue their tour tonight at Qudos Bank Arena at Sydney Olympic Park, and then head to New Zealand and North America.
