Gexa Energy Pavilion Season Opening Day
Monday, April 4th 2016
To help kickstart Gexa Energy Pavillion’s scheduled programming, British indie folk figureheads Mumford & Sons made a colossal seasonal debut, with a near capacity turnout of fans eager to witness the band’s triumphant return to Dallas after a leave of absence of virtually three years – all on a Monday evening, no less. Fans of all ages gathered at the arena to capture the resurgence of their legacy, and the band made sure to pull out all the stops to give them their money’s worth.
“You’re already a {explicative} of a lot better than Houston!” was the coy remark made from frontman/singer-songwriter Marcus Mumford after an explosive opening performance to “Snake Eyes,” the crowd erupting with glee the moment the ensemble assembled across the pavilion platform. They then transitioned into, “Little Lion Man,” to which the audience of thousands all but ecstatically chimed in to the profane chorus, fully immersing themselves in the jamboree, the strums of the iconic banjo (for which the song is most famous) cajoling their enthusiasm. The foursome performed many songs from their triad of studio albums, but a hearty portion of their selections were pulled from the refurbished sound of 2015’s Wilder Mind, which debuted at No. 1 in the US and UK, synonymous to its 2012 counterpart Babel, which did the same on the charts. Their debut album, Sigh No More, peaked at No. 2 on the UK Chars and the Billboard 200 in the US. The premier of their sophomore project Babel also landed them a plethora of Billboard Awards, includingTop Rock Album, as well as Best British Group at The Brit Awards in 2013, and even a Grammy for 2013’s Album of The Year.
The band’s prior success is almost surprising considering their uniquely woven melodies of woe-is-me lyrics with saltgrass undertones, but the band has decided to change its direction entirely with a more direct, mature approach on their latest material. The fashioning of Monday night’s setup, equipped with lavish lasers and grandiose light fixtures, openly opposes the folky, twee persona first exemplified by the group, and illustrates their transformation as heard on Wilder Mind. However, most of the cheers were still for their older installments, including “Broken Crown”, a tune Mumford stated the band hadn’t played in about four years.
The dramatic shift from banjos to synthesizers seen in their junior album has definitely surged a momentum for the British figureheads, and they’re fully galvanizing that momentum across the nation. It would seem as though Dallas fans have a greater affinity to the novelty of their former, acoustic sound that distinguished them in the first place, however. This was evident in the cathartic response to the feel-good tune, “Wait For You,” which sent the stadium into a frenzied uproar.
As the group attempts to expand on their catalog, we’re hopeful that they will consider reaching back to their roots every now and then. Their earlier methodologies seem to work best, if their supporters are any confirmation of that, so hopefully, we’ll hear more banjos and scrub boards in the future.
