Sushi and the Little Lion Man

I had been waiting months for this night.

Mumford & Sons has long been one of my favorite bands. I love their rhythm, their sound, the vocals and harmonies, and the way guitars and banjos can take music that begins almost simply and build it into something enormous. So when tickets became available for their Prizefighter Tour stop at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Amy and I were in.

With the weekend just ahead, we got into the car and headed an hour and a half south toward Hollywood and that unmistakable landmark in the distance—the massive Guitar Hotel reaching toward the South Florida clouds.

We had two things to look forward to: dinner at one of our favorite Japanese restaurants and a band I had wanted to see for a very long time.

Kuro

Kuro is beautiful. Light woods, dramatic hanging fixtures and contemporary Japanese design give the restaurant a warm, inviting feel. Its menu is designed around sharing, combining sushi and seafood with Japanese Wagyu and more creative hot dishes.

We were seated at a high-top in the bar area for an early pre-show dinner, which turned out to be a very good idea. By six o'clock, the place was standing room only.

Our server, Carolina, was excellent and guided us through a menu where it would have been very easy to order far too much.

We began with cocktails. Mine was the Hachi, an unlikely-sounding combination built around mushroom-infused bourbon, mirin, black pepper and lemon. Mushroom-infused bourbon admittedly sounds a little weird. Somehow, it worked. The ingredients played surprisingly well together, creating a beautiful mix of flavors.

Amy chose the Tokeiso, made with tequila, Cynar, passion fruit, yuzu and spices.

Alongside the drinks came edamame with a spicy dipping sauce on the side. It had some real heat, but stopped well short of overpowering the food.

Knowing we still had a concert ahead of us, we kept dinner relatively small and shared everything.

We started with the Wagyu Nori Yakitori, followed by the scallop sushi preparation. For our entrée, we shared the Lobster Kamameshi, combining lobster with exotic mushrooms, black truffles and Parmesan. Rich, savory and just enough.

Of course, "just enough" apparently still leaves room for dessert. We shared the Machu chocolate cake—rich, creamy and a very good way to finish dinner.

From Sushi to Sound

Leaving the relative calm of Kuro, we walked through the casino toward Hard Rock Live. The transition was immediate. The electronic sounds of slot machines, conversations coming from every direction, people gathered around gaming tables—the entire casino seemed to be in motion.

And then we entered Hard Rock Live.

It is an impressive room. With a capacity of about 7,000, it is large enough for a major touring act but still manages to feel surprisingly intimate. Look overhead and you immediately notice the suspended acoustic cubes that form such a distinctive part of the room. Designed to augment and control the sound throughout the venue, they are part of what makes the experience there so impressive.

The place sounds terrific.

Mumford & Sons

Before Mumford & Sons, there was Medium Build.

Calling them an opening act almost does them a disservice. They were excellent—great music, engaging performers and easily capable of carrying a standalone concert themselves. They are a band worth watching. Later in the evening, they would even return to perform with Mumford & Sons.

Then the lights changed.

Mumford & Sons formed in London in 2007 and only two years later released Sigh No More, the album that introduced much of the world to their distinctive mixture of folk and rock. It gave us "The Cave," "White Blank Page," "Awake My Soul" and, of course, "Little Lion Man."

Nearly two decades later, there is nothing nostalgic about seeing them live.

From the moment the nine-piece band walked onto the stage, the energy was extraordinary.

And then, only two songs into the show, came those familiar opening sounds of "Little Lion Man."

There was our title.

The evening moved between newer music and an impressive amount of the older material that made me love this band in the first place. The guitars were terrific. The horns added another layer. The banjo—my God, the banjo. And throughout it all were those vocals and harmonies that sound great on a recording but become something entirely different when performed live.

Marcus Mumford is more than a lead singer. He is an entertainer.

He talked with the audience, played to them and continually drew them into the performance. At one point he left the stage altogether and ran through the crowd, eventually making his way to the sound mixing booth, where he continued singing surrounded by the people who had come to see him.

The separation between performer and audience essentially disappeared.

And the audience responded.

People were standing, singing and moving with the band. Songs such as "White Blank Page," "Awake My Soul," "Lover of the Light," "Hopeless Wanderer," "The Cave" and "The Wolf" brought us back through the band's catalog, while the newer material reminded us that Mumford & Sons isn't interested in simply becoming its own tribute band.

By the time they reached the encore and ultimately "I Will Wait," the entire room seemed to belong to the band.

It was lively.

It was messy.

It was loud.

It was rambunctious.

And it was everything a phenomenal concert should be.

Eventually, even a concert like this has to end. But after more than two hours of Mumford & Sons, neither of us was particularly ready to call it a night.

We walked back out into the Hard Rock still running on the adrenaline of the show and decided to explore. The casino was still buzzing, the bars and restaurants were still filled with people, and outside, that enormous guitar that had welcomed us earlier was now illuminated against the night sky.

Fortunately, we weren't facing an hour-and-a-half drive home. We had already made a reservation to stay the night.

Every destination has a story. Every memorable evening leaves an impression. Our hope is simply to share the experiences that make us smile, inspire us to explore, and perhaps encourage you to create a few unforgettable memories of your own.

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— Ira Pearlstine and Amy Smith