Back in Rock City again, supporting headlining act Mayday Parade, this punk rock quintet from Arizona wowed Nottingham’s crowd once more this week! After a good start from previous warm up acts, The Maine had been highly anticipated, and, I’m more than happy to say that they certainly didn’t disappoint.
Coming on stage almost immediately after getting off their tour bus due to a breakdown on the way from Glasgow, The Maine were true professionals and didn’t miss a beat. Playing songs from across their albums (Pioneer & The Good Love, Forever Halloween, and their latest album American Candy), the group kept the crowd consistently entertained and singing along at the top of their lungs, with aid from their edgy, guitar-driven rhythms, incredible energy, and ubiquitous hair whips! From catchy ‘English Girls’ through to poignant ‘Another Night on Mars,’ the entire venue – young teenage girls revelling in the discovery of alternative music, pop punk gig frequenters, students and adults alike – Rock City came alive with The Maine’s performance.
Although I’m an avid gig-goer, I must say I’ve never quite seen a performance that incorporated what I shall refer to as ‘a sonic breakdown’ before the final number – the drums were going at a hundred miles an hour, the guitars and bass produced something atonal and dissonant, yet completely intoxicating, satisfying and vivacious, and the stage lights rapidly changed colours and flashed towards the crowd in a fashion that almost made me fear for people’s retinas. The band stopped, the lights went down, frontman John O’Calloghan addressed us for a final time before ‘Another Night on Mars.’
We were thoroughly entertained throughout, and I encourage anyone who already hasn’t to check out The Maine online or on iTunes!
Celia-Jayne Matthews
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