The Leiter side of life…

It was certainly a music infused weekend, complete with Lollapalooza in Chicago and, more locally, Portland’s much anticipated Mumford & Son’s, Gentlemen of the Road stopover show.

I’d been anticipating the day for months and it lived up to those expectations in many regards. The music and the stage set blew my expectations.

The organization of the event, pretty standard for Portland. The lines for everything from the bathrooms to the beer to burgers, overwhelming and a little disappointing.  Probably because most of us Portlanders don’t typically wait, whether it be in traffic or long lines. One of the benefits of living in a small city in Maine that most of us take for granted.

A common think spot of mine, the Eastern Prom, was packed with over 15,000 people.  A place where I’ve found silent, solo refuge over the past few years was everything but, but a site to behold never-the-less.

Mumford & Son’s opened with the highly popular, yet never officially released song, “Lover’s Eyes:”

(note: to avoid about a minute and a half of eager Portland fans, skip to about 1:45)

While I’ve been listening to this song over the past year on YouTube, I thought it would be appropriate to share it for those of you who have yet to hear the tune and have never heard Mumford & Son’s preform live.  It truly gives you chills to hear them play. For a less powerful version but with less crowd screaming, search YouTube.

This song represents all that is Mumford & Son’s: increasingly powerful vocals & music and an unbelievably talented group full of many different instruments and sounds that create one of a kind and touching music experience that most everyone, despite typical music tastes, can appreciate if not fall in love with.

To read more about the show, check out the Rolling Stone article.