Support act: 2nd Place Driver
The reviews of this band that we checked the night before the gig were all very positive, and the single sounds quite alright, but the show itself was disappointing. Boring. And what was with that drum-computer? Is your own drummer not good enough to produce the right beats? Then get a new one or let him have lessons, because this looked pretty ridiculous. The crowd was very difficult to please, which must have made it very hard for the band to get into it. It got a little better when the singer announced they would be doing a cover. Nobody expected them to kick into The Sugababes’ Destination and that woke everyone up nicely. The response after that was slightly better, but still most people were chatting to each other or having a drink at the bar. The cheers when they announced their last song were loud. Poor boys. Official website
Maximo Park
We accidentally saw the last two songs of their set at Rock Am Ring festival last summer, not knowing who they were but liking them instantly. At Pukkelpop we had to give them a miss because Apocalyptica was playing at the same time, but we knew we would be seeing Maximo Park at the Melkweg in November anyway. At a gig I want to be able to dance and jump around, singing along with the music. This time however, both Annika and I were injured and we decided to watch them from the balcony.
As soon as the band came out onto the stage, the crowd went mad. And rightfully so! These guys have a hell of a lot of energy and play airtight! Singer Paul Smith is very charismatic, charming and terribly funny. He jumps very high, his legs flying all over the place. The other one showing off his crazy moves was keyboard player Lukas Wooller, who did the ‘robot-move’ with his arms a lot when he wasn’t hitting his keys.
The band played all the tracks from their album ‘A Certain Trigger’, occasionally throwing in a number of older songs and b-sides like A19. Highlight of the setlist was current single ‘Apply Some Pressure’, performed perfectly! The crowd was moshing, shouting, singing and smiling and so was the band. They loved it! After a short break they came back for a couple of old songs before closing the evening with ‘Going Missing’. The shouts and applauding after they finished was insane and the band stood on stage for a while, grinning from ear to ear, clapping for us too. Brilliant evening!
Verdict: Maximo Park is fabulous live! Paul hit every note spot on and I have nothing bad at all to say about this band’s performance that evening! The sound was great, the atmosphere amazing and I hope they will come back very soon!
Imre
Pictures of this gig are here!
