Philly Plain Dealer

Background – Writer Jason N. Peters was given free third-hand tickets to see Mumford & Sons in Philadelphia on Tuesday October 14th.

When I go to the Xfinity Mobile Arena I mentally prepare to be yelled at like I’m going through TSA as I enter the arena. Walking into a Sixers game has been more difficult and strict than entering the “green zone” in Washington DC during Inauguration when the National Guard is in town. 

Just two months ago, I wrote a Philly Plain Dealer article titled “Can I Bring My Vape Into Philly Sports Venues” where I said “The security at a Sixers game borders on disrespectful. The corralling process to enter the Xfinity Mobile arena is second only to the TSA in strictness and rudeness.

They will throw away your purse for being too big, as if it needs to fit an overhead compartment. Sixers games often lack enthusiasm in the first quarter, likely because of the long miserable line fans are forced to wait in listening to Allied Universal Employees screaming that ‘you empty your pockets.’”

However, at the Mumford & Sons Concert I was treated like royalty. I strided in chest forward through security, the metal detector was off to the side and within a span of 15 seconds both me and my vape were successfully in the concourse of the Xfinity Mobile Arena! 

“Why was it so easy to get in here and bring my vape?” I thought to myself while wearing a XXL hoodie and giant black sweatpants. Then I looked to my left, looked to my right and saw only white men draped in Patagonia and their female counterparts in a wide variety of plaid. 

Memories from my teenage years rushed back to me from working concert venues where security needed to be “beefed up” for Chris Brown and was noticeably more lax for James Taylor. More recent memories from working at WBLS and HOT 97 when Nassau County officials attempted to shut down Summer Jam and the hip-hop police shut down a show at S.O.B’s that Armani White was on. 

This Mumford & Sons concert was by far the whitest room I had been in over the last few years. It felt like a gathering of the bad guys from Sinners. The Mums’ (cool nickname I made) make a variation of folk music that doesn’t necessarily crossover to other cultures. 

I do not blame the Mums’ for their lack of non-white fans, but I do blame the Xfinity Live Arena for the drastic difference in protocol that I have witnessed over the last few years. 

Right after I realized the caucasity of the event, I walked towards the escalator to go to my nosebleed seats and was stopped by an usher who said “would you like to upgrade your seats?” We responded “yes” and were given club suite tickets with an amazing view of the stage. As a lifelong Sixers fan, I haven’t been in the club suite since the building was called the “Wachovia Center.” Yet, this free Mumford & Sons ticket was the first time I’d ever been offered an upgrade in that arena!

The experience of attending a Mumford & Sons concert was conflicting. The music was good, but repetitive. The concert was a good experience, yet the whole thing was a little off. Through producing three seasons of Captains & Major: Journey to the HBCU NY Football Classic I learned about “white space” and “predominantly white institutions” aka “PWI’s” and it has reframed how I view the world. Through three seasons of that show, I’ve learned to question predominantly white spaces and ask why a room is so white. It’s hard to get comfortable without some melanin in the room, even though I am a white guy.

Marcus Mumford, the lead singer and titular “Mumford” is an impressive talent who puts on a hell of a show. However, Marcus oozes of sincerity in a way I find uncomfortable. His sincerity teeters on Coldplay and Imagine Dragons levels but with a folk twang. The entire show was so genuine and sincere, as a hip-hop fan whose used to sarcasm, irony and humor in songs, watching an “unplugged” encore where three men harmonize into one microphone while Marcus Mumford solemnly strums an acoustic guitar felt strange.

Mumford & Sons isn’t doing anything wrong, society has poisoned my brain with cynicism and it’s my fault that I find their sincerity off-putting. Mumford & Sons not appealing to non-white listeners is not their fault, I would never dare play a Mumford & Sons song in the HOT 97 office unless it was for Ebro In The Morning’s classic segment “White-Ish Wednesday.”

Yet, for the sheer reason that my free Mumford & Sons experience has been a thought-provoking one, their hit “The Cave” is this week’s Philly song of the week! 

16,000 fans erupted for The Cave, as did they for Little Lion Man and I Will Wait! The Mums’ have hits, there’s no denying that, and they were able to get 16,000 white people down to South Philly on a Tuesday – so they are definitely relevant in this market. Congratulations to Mumford & Sons, I’m sure you’ll read this and appreciate the honor!