Mumford & Sons - we love you!

Gentlemen of the Road was everything I had hoped for and more.

My husband and I celebrated our 16th anniversary on Friday.  We had a wonderful evening at First Friday ArtWalk downtown.


At David's Restaurant.

We went to David's (Monument Square) for a drink.


Later we had Thai food at Boda (Longfellow Square).  Try the skewers, they're great.


Outdoor seating at Boda!



ALL ABOARD FOR MUMFORD & SONS!
We took the bus from the Arts District.
(Easy-peasy... I REALLY ought to
 take the Metro Bus more often.)

A spectacular vista.

People were so fabulous and friendly.

A fellow named Brian McGregor was quoted in the PPH as saying the whole event had "class & sophistication."  WELL SAID, Brian.  Yeah, there were lines for food, but the people we waited in line with were great.  Chelsea from Long Island, NY, you are a FIERCE line guardian!



Quote of the Day: "There's water in beer."

The music was wonderful.  I'll admit, going in I wasn't acquainted with any music except for Mumford & Sons and a little bit of Dropkick Murphys.  But I'm going to hunt down more Haim and Apache Relay, for sure.  I can't say there was a band I didn't like.  But I was just so mellow, everything was great. 

I've seen lots of big concerts, including U2, Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Page & Robert Plant.  At those concerts, I knew every single song by heart.  But at this concert, it wasn't all about the music for me.  It was about the whole event.  Relaxing and having a great time... with my husband, who is a Mumford & Sons fan for life now ;-)
I just love the small-town feel of Portland.  The nice people behind us (our parents' age) were on their boat Friday night and gave "these nice young men with instruments" a lift from their yacht to the dock at East End.  Turns out the nice young men were Mumford & Sons, who gave them four tickets to the show.  And lo & behold, these folks, the Wallaces, have known my husband's family for more than 30 years.  See, that's what's so great.

I will never forget this event.  Everyone just having a great time.



You just don't get much more relaxed than this.

Enjoying the music & the scenery.

 I've listened to Sigh No More about five times today.  By the way, turns out there IS a literature connection here: "Sigh No More" is both a quote and a reference to Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.  And I'll be pre-ordering Babel as soon as I post this blog ;-).




The finale: all the bands returned to the primary stage, and the whole place,
fans, musicians & all, sang "The Weight" at the top of our lungs.



And finished off with FIREWORKS!

Thank you, Gentlemen of the Road, for visiting us.

  Stop by Portland anytime. We love you.