I learned that a friend knew someone who had an extra ticket to the second Mumford & Sons show in D.C. on Valentine's Day, last night.  While I hesitated to go back and fight the traffic and crowds two nights in a row, when I found out it was a general admission ticket, I knew I had to go and see the band up close.  My photos ended up being more of a montage to Marcus Mumford because the other three band members are so animated when they play -- I couldn't get a single photo to be in focus in the low light conditions.




And I was rewarded for knowing the show's secret - that the band removed themselves from the stage to head to a second, tiny stage at the back of the floor for two of their encore songs.  So I positioned myself right up front for that experience!  Of course the main stage show didn't falter and continued to be truly amazing!  Here are the videos I took of the four part harmony songs they sung for the encore:

And my favorite part of my favorite song plus a few other song bits:


I also found this video on YouTube that is fascinating if you're interested in learning more about the evolution of the Mumford & Sons sound.  Marcus Mumford and Ben Lovett do a fantastic job of eloquently and thoughtfully expressing their opinions on being in a popular band in the era of social media, the origins of the group and influences, and their passions for live performance ("we use our albums as adverts for our shows").  It's always impressive to find musicians that are introspective and exhibit their obvious intelligence through their words and behaviors - and by starting a book club?