If you live in parts of the world that is not the US, catching The Maine live is a rarity, except for this year. Ever since the release of the newest album, Lovely Little Lonely, in April the band have embarked on a world tour that covers everywhere. Last night brought them to London’s iconic venue KOKO, where we got to see the band in action for a record third time within six months. Rarity indeed.
TDL’s other favourite from the 8123-family, The Technicolors opened the night. It’s catchy indie music that many from the audience were already familiar with, despite this being their first (and hopefully not last) visit to the UK.
One of the best parts of a live show is when you know literally nothing of a support act and they blow minds with their performance. Night Riots just came and done that. Eclectic stage presence, synthpop mixed with some rock, and a drum battle with glowing drum sticks! We are never getting off this bandwagon. Ever.
Following the well set anticipation for the headliner, The Maine took to stage with “Black Butterflies & Déjà vu” to take us on a journey through ten years of music – from emo to happy-sad, if you wish. As a longtime fan, you just know what to expect from each performance yet it doesn’t take any value away. What starts to matter after a while is the familiarity of the environment, the performers who enjoy entertaining, and the unity amongst the crowd. You go there to have a good time; to be the happiest emo version of yourself.
This tour is for the Lovely Little Lonely-era and the band delivers a great chunk of songs off the new record. Jokingly stating that if someone is there for the old stuff they might as well go to the bar while they play “Taxi,” “How Do You Feel?,” “Bad Behavior” and “Do You Remember? (The Other Half of 23)” – but everybody stayed put singing along, enjoying every bit of new and old alike. “Take Me Dancing” was the only ballad of the night. What an emotionally twisting song it is! The lyrics, “If you’re feeling dead, you gotta try to find a way to be alive,” manifest the exact reason people in the audience showed up that night.
Music is special but live music is what really makes some of us glow. It’s an environment you can escape to and leave all your problems behind while singing about said problems. What a beauty…and The Maine know how to present that. As “Another Night On Mars” ended the night, it all felt like home. Right there, with those people, in that moment. Not sure when we will get to see The Maine again but we will be there for it. They want to come back as Green Day 2 after all, they said. Just don’t take too long, boys!
