Party Promt

December 9 – Party Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.

Going to the Mumford and Sons concert this spring was fantastic. This wasn’t a traditional party, but this was an event I recall quite fondly for this year. I guess it was a party--one with hundreds of strangers.

I met up with my friend J. We waited in line in the rain to get to the venue (the Varsity Theatre in Dinkytown). I could feel a great buzz with the crowd. We were with some of the luckiest people who had scored tickets. The concert sold out in under an hour.

People were trying to buy tickets for an exorbitant amount of money. The desperation in their eyes was palbable. I felt a bit sorry for them, but I was not going to give up my ticket.

The venue was excellent. It’s an open space with a mezzanine surrounding the perimeter. Some plush couches and chairs were scattered around the edges. Funky chandliers hung from the ceiling. This place is hip.

This place also didn’t have any ventilation.

So it was a hot, sweaty mess. Remember, we’re basically all soaking from the rain. Without any air conditioning or even fans, the elements are a bit against anyone enjoying the concert. Too bad it was fantastic.

I have rarely felt like I have been a part of a collective that has ridden the same energy wave. I don’t go to a lot of concerts, mind you. But I’ve been part of plenty of large-group gatherings. I go to theatre, attend different concerts. I suppose the only thing that can come close to this kind of energy bubble was marching with Phantom Regiment. Even then, this sense of ensemble and connection was fleeting.

In any case, Mumford and Sons tore the place up. I think as an audience, we gave them as much of a show as they did for us. And then the cycle of energy kept spinning back and forth. This is the kind of thing you crave as a performer. It’s a symbiotic relationship. Sends you spinning in a trance.

I want to be clear I had only had a beer or two. Before we start to wonder if there were any other influences…

The clarity of their performance was infectious. Their music is blazing across the globe, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a formative, touchstone band for me. It’s a little weird to say that since I’ve only known about them for a year, but I’m confident that they will be one of those bands I’ll always turn to no matter what. The lyrics are beautiful, simple and complex. The harmonies are a blast. The plucking and jamming is impossible not to groove to. Experiencing it live brings all of that to an exponential growth.

I hope to see them again soon.

It was a party I’ll never forget.