Mumford and Sons, Genting Arena, Birmingham - review

The NEC arena stage was positioned right in the middle of the room, meaning everyone had the perfect view of the London quartet.

Kicking off the night with the rousing 42 and Guiding Light, Mumford and Sons immediately had the crowd whipped up into a foot-stomping frenzy.

The stage set up made this arena show feel more like an intimate event, made even more personal by the band's warm and inviting interaction with the audience.

"Hello Birmingham! We love this city," lead vocalist Marcus Mumford told the crowd to roaring cheers.

"Shout out to the Glee Club, we've played there many times and it has a special place in our heart.

"Without small shows like that, we wouldn't have big shows like this."

And big was an understatement, with awe-inspiring moving lights forming the shape of an arc, fireworks erupting from the stage, and a multi-level stage that allowed the band to play from different vantage points.

All of these theatrics did not detract away from the bands raw talent and musical ability however. Songs such as Little Lion Man, Tompkins Square Park, White Blank Page and The Cave sounded simply sublime, with Marcus' powerful vocals demonstrating impressive range.

Winston Marshall switched between the banjo and guitar effortlessly, while Ted Wayne's masterful control of the double bass was simply jaw-dropping to watch.

A real highlight of the show was the room being illuminated with phone torches during a hair-raising rendition of Believe, in which Marcus' vocals truly shone.

This live show is designed to bring Mumford and Sons closer to the audience than ever before, something that certainly created an electric atmosphere with non-stop dancing being a common sight across the room throughout the hour and 45 minute set.

Marcus even treated fans in the balcony to an up-close and personal experience, as he scaled the high barriers and sang among the crowd.

The intimacy of the night peaked with a spine-tingling unplugged rendition of Timshel, which saw the quartet surrounding one microphone and doing away with all the pyrotechnics we'd seen before.

A falling pin could have been heard in the room, as the entire audience was transfixed with the highly polished song where not a note was out of place.

Ending on foot-stomping performances of I Will Wait and Delta, Mumford and Sons waved goodbye to what was truly a magical night.

Their new headline tour hit just the right balance of intimacy and theatrics, allowing fans to enjoy a polished show that never over-shadows the talent the band possess.

We will wait, we will wait for them to come back once more.