<\/a>I\u2019ve downloaded a ton of apps on my phone, and aside from stuff like my RSS reader and Tetris (I spend a lot of time on the subway) most of them never get used. Every once in a while, though, these seldom used apps idly occupying space on my phone\u2019s flash memory do come in handy. One of those apps is Shazam (and no, I\u2019m not sponsored by them, unfortunately\u2026 hey Shazam people, if you\u2019re reading this, get in touch\u2026\u201dLive4Ever Reviews sponsored by Shazam\u201d has a nice ring to it, no?). For those who don\u2019t know what Shazam is, it\u2019s an app that identifies songs. If you happen to hear a song you\u2019re not familiar with but you kind of like, you can load up the app and it\u2019ll listen to the song for a brief period after which it will display all the relevant information about the song: title, artist album, etc. There are some other features, too, but I can\u2019t say I\u2019ve bothered to try any of them out. The five times I\u2019ve actually used it, it\u2019s worked remarkably well. However, I almost never have a reason to use it. <\/p>\nIn any case, one day earlier this year I did find the occasion to fire it up on my phone and I\u2019m glad I did. I don\u2019t remember where I was, the time stamp indicates that it was rather late at night (or early in the morning, depending on your perspective), but I heard a song that piqued my interest and I had no idea who the artist was. It was vaguely reminiscent of the Fleet Foxes<\/strong>, I thought, a little less reverby and medieval sounding, but definitely mining similar territory. Nice big acoustic guitars, sweet harmonies\u2026 and a banjo. A banjo? That\u2019s different. It turned out to be \u201cLion Man<\/strong><\/em>\u201d by Mumford & Sons<\/strong>. Sure, the singer sounded a little too much like Dave Matthews<\/strong> for comfort, but I was instantly hooked. I was also way behind the curve on this one.<\/p>\nDammit. It\u2019s not like I hadn\u2019t heard about the band before, it\u2019s just that there\u2019s so much music being put out these days, it can be difficult to know where to start. Heck, Live4Ever (the site you\u2019re reading this review on) has been covering them for over a year now (Check the archives! There\u2019s stuff about them going as far back as September 2009), so I had heard of them (and the name is quite memorable, recalling a childhood favorite TV show of mine, Sanford and Son), but I had never actually heard them. My bad. Thankfully, Shazam rectified this tragedy and I ran out and got my hands on the band\u2019s debut record, Sigh No More. Much rejoicing ensued. Great fucking record indeed. It wound up being played in heavy rotation in my little world, but because I was late to the party the band\u2019s two upcoming gigs at Terminal 5 were already sold out, so when I got a text from a friend that he had an extra ticket to see the band at Terminal 5, with a profuse amount of thanks I jumped on the opportunity.<\/p>\n
On an unseasonably warm November (15th) evening we met up on Manhattan\u2019s West Side and, since we were running a little late and missed the first opening act, King Charles (I would regret this later), we headed straight up to the roof to get our drink on. When we came back down to the floor towards the end of second opening act Cadillac Sky\u2019s set (wouldn\u2019t have minded seeing their whole set either, to be honest), the venue was packed almost as much as it had been during the Raconteurs three night stand a few years back. Not bad for a Monday night. The crowd trended a little older than your typical indie rock show at Terminal 5, but was one of the least disinterested audiences I\u2019ve seen there. Hell, the audience was flat out raucous. Cadillac Sky was in the middle of a full on hillbilly jam, fiddles and banjos all ablaze, and the crowd was eating it up, somehow managing to dance along while packed in sardine tight. Cadillac Sky look exactly how you\u2019d expect they would playing the music that they do, complete with bushy beards and faded overalls; only the banjo-playing kid from Deliverance was missing.<\/p>\n
As Cadillac Sky<\/strong> were ending their set, we muscled our way into the middle of the floor at Terminal 5, and aside from a couple of freakishly tall people had a pretty good vantage point to watch Mumford & Sons.<\/p>\nI really wasn\u2019t sure what to expect either from the band or from the audience. I knew I liked the record and that I thought the band had an interesting take on the folkier side of rock music with a bit of an edge. I mentioned above that Mumford & Sons reminded me a bit of the Fleet Foxes, but if it makes any sense I should add that even though the Mumford family (no, they\u2019re not really related\u2026 or lead Mumford sure got around a lot as a toddler) come out of an English folk tradition, their sound. to me at least, seems steeped in traditional American folk sounds, whereas the American Fleet Foxes wouldn\u2019t necessarily sound out of place at a Renaissance Fair and exude a much more medieval British sensibility.<\/p>\n
The Mumfords opened their set with \u201cSigh No More<\/strong><\/em>\u201d, the lead track off their debut record, and the cavernous Terminal 5 filled with the sweet harmonies of the four band member singing in unison. From the first note to the last, the band was in top form, sounding like grizzled road veterans, which they kind of are at this point, since their two night stand at Terminal 5 is coming at the end of the band\u2019s tour.<\/p>\n