Gentlemen of the Road: Portland Stopover

When you have a band as lyrically deep and thoughtful as Mumford and Sons and you know the preparation that is going into the Gentlemen of the Road stopover tour it’s hard to not look at it as a serious event. When 12,000 tickets sell out in under twenty minutes it’s hard to not think about how this event could go down in history and you’d be part of it. It’s nearly impossible to look at the event without wide eyed wonder. Then they give you a free mustache when you enter.

I can honestly say that the Gentlemen of the Road Portland Stopover was one of the funnest days I’ve had in a long time. It wasn’t that I was constantly entertained but rather that I didn’t have to be. The whole feeling of the day, the mix of music, food, beer, nature, and the town left me happy and smiling most of the day. They created a mood and a vibe that would rival a religious experience.

Being fairly new to Portland, Maine I wasn’t sure what to expect about the Eastern Promenade but since I’m naturally an ocean lover finding out that the day’s backdrop would be the Casco Bay made me happy. As my wife and I walked from downtown up Munjoy Hill we were welcomed with a homemade donut from a local vendor (whoever thought of putting sea salt on a chocolate donut is a genius) and a gorgeous view of the bay.

The festival itself was set up very well. The Promenade was blocked off nicely, the volunteers and security were polite and helpful, and we entered rather quickly, all things considered. Having the two stages helped kill downtime between sets and having them close together also kept us who just wanted to sit and enjoy from having to get up and move every time the bands changed. My wife and I sat in the 21+ seating area which gave us a great view of both stages, the bay, and let us remember why we left the kid with my parents. The free water on a 90 degree day was a nice touch. I’ve been to many festivals where they don’t let you bring in food or water but don’t worry, they’ll happily sell you a 6 oz Dasani for $20.

My only complaint about the festival set up was the food. The food was good there just wasn’t enough of it. It was a bummer to have to stand in line for an hour to get a burger and miss a band or two. I’m sure it was no fun either for those sitting on the hill who had people waiting in line standing in front of them and around them.

But the music made it all worth it. The show started right around 2 o’clock and there wasn’t more than a 15 minute break between sets for the rest of the day. I have never seen a festival with that kind of turnaround time (well, except for old Warped Tour where the bands first song was their sound check). The sound was well done except for stage two had microphone issues at the beginning of two of the sets.

The bands picked for the tour were nearly perfect. The music was diverse but not much of it was out of place.  The first act of the day was Simon Felice. He started the day on stage two and fell victim to the microphone problem. I’m sure the lyrics to his first song were great, but nobody could hear them. Lyrically Simon didn’t wow me but he had no lack of talent or passion musically. I’ll admit to having a soft spot for fiddle and upright bass so he had me at hello. I met him in the water line by saying, “You’re wearing a Gentlemen of the Road badge. You must be important. Who are you?” He laughed, told me who he was and chatted with me for a bit. He was very grateful for being there and gushed about the show more like a fan then an artist. It was nice to see the human side of what’s on stage.

I’ll admit to not being into the next band of the day, but the sisters of Haim were well received by the crowd. They were musically eclectic and talented but their sound was a lot older then they looked with vocals and synth that made me think of 1987. I will admit that they were fun to watch. They had a serious energy and having three pretty girls jamming out and rocking a full band drum solo is always a good time.

The Apache Relay and The Maccabees were the first two bands that made me really sit back and go, “wow!” I found them to really get me into the festival mood. The Apache Relay reminded me of Against Me! on their meds while The Maccabees first couple of songs reminded me of Cool Hand Luke from back in my early festival days. I’ll admit that I only heard most of The Maccabees’ set because I was in a ridiculous food line, but I was tapping my feet and bobbing my head the whole time and that is always a good sign.

Okay, time for me to be a jerk. St. Vincent was the only band of the day that made me say, “Oh my gosh, are they still playing?” The vocals were solid and some of her lyrics were ironic and bordering on depth. Musically I felt like they had no idea where they were going but they were going there really slowly. They had a lot of sludgy industrial synth sound that made me feel like earlier in the week they bought the complete Joy Division and New Order discography and said, “We can do that” and tried. The crowd seemed to dig them and the people I was with said their sound live was not at all what is on their records so this is a band to at least give a good look at but they were by far the weakest link of the day.

Dawes was the best band that I had never heard of. I had seen them bopping around Noisetrade  but never really gave them a chance. Boy was I missing out! They had everything I like in a non-punk band: solid music with a great command of the stage, and honest, thoughtful lyrics that put everything you hold dear under the microscope. I saw a video of Mumford & Sons live and they said, “The biggest mistake we can make at a concert is playing right after Dawes.” I don’t know if I fully agree with that but I will tell you Dawes was the only opener besides Dropkick that I would run out and buy tickets for.

Oh yes, The Dropkick Murphys! When I found out that the DKM boys were added to this show I nearly messed my pants. I see DKM every St. Patty’s Day and they are one of my all time favorite bands. They played a show at the State Theater later that night (which I had to miss. I wasn’t bringing my pregnant wife in there! Are you nuts?) so this was just a teaser set. The original bill said “acoustic set” which was blown out of the water when they came out unintroduced, rocking “The State of Massachusetts. They played half the set plugged in and half the set unplugged. ! I will admit they were a little out of place with the hipster crowd, but for us punkers who were there, for whatever reason, it was a great warm up for Mumford.

Now understand Mumford & Sons is a family affair for us. The CD is constantly in the car, my wife and I actually agree on them (which would be like Obama and Romney agreeing on, well, anything) and my five year old boy can sing “The Cave” in its entirety. My wife worked her tail off to get us these tickets and she sat, pregnant, in the 90 degrees all day to hear them.

They were effing amazing.

I had heard their live show was great and I was not disappointed. Everything they did was very intentional but not scripted. The light show fit and wasn’t overbearing. Bits of it were cheesy but I even feel like that was intentional. Playing “Little Lion Man” second was a bold move. I was happy they got it out of the way early to shut up all the radio fans (which I’m assuming there weren’t many). All the songs from their upcoming Babel album were well received and it sounds like we’ll get at least one more magical Mumford album.

What did surprise me was how little Marcus talked. He strikes me as a true poet and seeker who is trying to figure stuff out through music. He is very talented musically, owning both guitar and drums, and lyrically he is amazing. Somehow he was able to run the whole show without being overbearing. A lot of bands I see with strong lead singers look like they are going to fist fight when they leave stage but not Mumford & Sons. The whole band just looked like they were having the time of their lives. I got the feeling they got off stage and said, “I don’t believe that just effing happened!”

I am not sure if this show will be remembered as historic as it felt. At the end of the night the bands were praising the city of Portland and thanking the fans and letting us know the day’s success was a joint effort. All I know is that if Portland is smart they will let more festivals play the Promenade and if Mumford is smart they will swing by again, and again.