Mumford & Sons + Mt. Desolation + King Charles - Crystal Ballroom (Portland, OR; Oct. 22, 2010)

If you research any form of history for long enough, patterns will begin to develop. Music history is no exception and from what I’ve observed, bands or artists that attain longevity tend to fall into three categories: perpetual hit factory, intriguing innovator or universal connector. A hit factory taps into our desire to feel instant gratification and find relief from the tedium of our days. The music usually isn’t deep, but that’s not really the point of it. The people that continue to make hits or build up enough to sustain them on the “goodwill” circuit will always have an audience. An intriguing innovator taps into our sense of exploration and adventure. They push and inspire us, and we keep checking for them because they stoke the fires of our curiosity. The last type, the universal connector, is the giant of the three because they tap directly into peoples’ emotional centers, establishing a bond in words and song that makes the listener feel like the singer not only understands their hopes or dreams or misery, but speaks for them, as well. The artists that make this type of music build followings, not audiences. That’s the type of band some are saying Mumford & Sons are on their way to becoming. A band built on intimate expression rather than studio magic. On Friday night, you could tell that their fans agreed with that assessment. This was a personal experience for them; it meant something, it was in their eyes and in their voices. And while it’s too early to tell whether M&S will continue to make albums as affecting as Sigh No More, it is clear that if tended, this movement towards Mumford will give them a career for as long as they want one.

The fans that arrived early, and most of them did, learned that Mumford & Sons wasn’t the only British-born act on the bill that night. King Charles came out first, decked out in a tail coat of the blue velvet variety and some of the tightest white waist-highs I’ve ever seen. Atop his head sat a bird’s nest of thick dreaded hair, tied up in some sort of ad hoc pattern. From his mouth came heavily accented folk music that felt informed by the study of poetic composition and the syllabic elaborations that make a good poem a good poem. Gone from this performance was the psychedelic angle that has been piquing the interest of the blogs, all the was left was his voice, his words and the sound of clean, undistorted guitar. Single “Love Lust” was the standout. It’s ask is that you “never let a woman go even when you know she can always be replaced” because love lasts far longer than fleeting forms of new excitement like lust or beauty. This track won over the nearly packed house and he continued to charm them with the rest of his songs and mellow-toned sound. His best trick was the juxtaposition of his singer-songwriter phrasing against the eccentric gentleman attire he was rocking. It was like he had just fallen out of a fanciful Victorian novel right unto that stage, still speaking in the tongues of the age, but through the music of generations that came after. And although the sights and sounds combined into something that was welcome, 30 mins was enough. His work, as a solo entity, doesn’t have the staying power required to entertain you through the entirety of a headliner’s length. This could probably be remedied with the addition of a band and a reintegration of the psychedelic overtones incoming fans were already trained to expect.

British act number two was Mt. Desolation or as many know them, the side project of Keane members Tim-Rice Oxley (keyboardist/vocalist) and Jesse Quin (guitarist/vocalist). Americana was the name of the game here, an alt. country mash up that sounded like the warm, smoothed-edge version of Wilco that made Sky Blue Sky and the I and Love and You version of The Avett Brothers. It was alt. country with a pop mentality - structure and chord progression were important, but lost was the grit that makes alt. country so great. All of it has been done before and a lot better, which made the sound feel like the sweat from of a bunch of moonlighters rather than wannabe moonshiners. They had the steps down though; the vocals were definitely Tweedyish in sound and the group’s six members played like an ensemble instead of as a showcase for a star-hungry member. They even pulled out a fantastic cover of The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down;” which almost made me forget about the plateau-like drive through the rest of the numbers. But in the end, even an appearance by Nigel (banjo player from M&S) couldn’t elevate the set from anything other than a judgment of “when’s Mumford going on stage?”

When Mumford & Sons took their places, the audience lit up as brightly as the light bulbs strung above the group’s heads. Held tight on rows of overlapping wires, this lighting setup seemed out of time, more aligned to some old vaudevillian stage than a modern day music hall. It belonged to an era when folk shows were communal events and entertainment partially resided in the stories the musicians would tell through their songs. Mumford & Sons might borrow from this tradition at times, but their album and concerts show that they are much more attuned to the ways of pop music. Their combination of catchy melodies and drummer-less folk allows them to sound both old and new, a key factor driving them towards crossover success.

They opened the show as they opened their album with “Sigh No More,” a song that’s a perfect example of the Mumford formula. Start slow, sing lyrics about love or loss, up the intensity and build to rowdy vocals, a rolling banjo and horns a blasting. Listen for yourself, most of their songs fall into this formula - it’s crescendo or die. However, if a band is going to pick a trick, a crescendo is a great one to land on, since it’s basically the musical equivalent of eating fat and sugar. It’s also one of the reasons their songs feel so powerful. That said, if Marcus Mumford’s voice wasn’t all that it is, the songs wouldn’t be half as good as they are. He is the power center of the group and over the course of the show he made that known over and over again. “White Blank Page” had him belting out, “You desired my attention/but denied my affections, my affections” like a pot boiling over and his performance on “Thistle & Weeds” had you believing he might have been near the end of his rope when he wrote “I will hold on.” I’m talking about true vocal talent in an era of pitch correction and manufactured abilities. Blew me away. The band was by no means second rate though, their work on “Dustbowl Dance” was particularly rousing. Empowering Marcus’ tale of revenge with an impenetrable wall of sound, the group actually brought to life the black heart of rage for an awestruck crowd.

The apex of the evening came in the middle of the set during “Little Lion Man.” And to be honest, I came into this concert promising myself I wouldn’t write about this song because it’s so expected, but damned if it wasn’t one of the most thrilling performances I’ve ever seen. When it started up the crowd roared and then channeled that energy into their voices, singing out each and every word. That was fun, but it was in the last minute that it all broke open. As the band sang a slowed down version of the melody in the form of “Ahs,” the crowd attempted to match them, each side singing louder with each new start to the cycle. With each round, the lights above the band got brighter, mimicking the rising intensity in the room. Just before the band released the tension and dove back into the song, there was split second where the room felt like a giant battery pack about to reach a full charge - one of pure kinetic energy. It was the type of situation that I find life-affirming and it is why I will always believe music has the power to save people. I’d call it special, but I think that would cheapen it. But I guess trying to put it into words probably does, too.

So hear this. At every level, now is the time to go and see Mumford & Sons. Not satisfied with that? Let me give you a few reasons:

1) They still love playing the songs everyone loves. So the performances come off as powerful rather than routine.
2) They haven’t traded up for non-intimate venues yet.
3) People are in love with them and that makes for good company at shows.

The third point might be the real reason you should pay attention. Whenever people flock to a band at fanatical levels, it’s usually because something in the music has moved them. For Mumford, it seems to be the lyrics. When I started this review, I brought up the idea of the universal connector and after seeing the looks in people’s eyes as they were singing at the show, I can’t help but believe that Mumford is on the short list. And while lines like “You are not alone in this,” can appear trite on a page, they sound sincere when sung. Statements like that are what people use to get themselves through hard times or find hope when there is none. And that’s valuable, no matter where you stand on the band.

DOWNLOAD: Mumford & Sons - Dustbowl Dance (MP3) or Follow us for more Mumford & Sons MP3s (Twitter)

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