Live Wired [Review]: The Maine 12/17

posted in: Reviews & Playlists • Rock

No matter how much you love a band’s music, their live show can fall flat when it lacks enthusiasm, especially in a small, intimate venue. Luckily, this was not the case on Saturday night, as The Maine took the stage at Brighton Music Hall. At the beginning of the month, they chose to independently release their album Pioneer, just two years after signing to a major label. And while the phrases “evolved sound” or “matured sound” are incredibly overused, they happen to be true in this case. For better or for worse, The Maine have pretty drastically changed their music over the years. It doesn’t seem to matter to their fans though, who just keep growing in number. The band’s overall look and type of music certainly factor in, but there’s a lot more to it.

While The Maine could have sold out much larger venues, they chose to go on a small tour in support of their new album so that they could make it more special. There were no opening bands, just The Maine. They came out for the first part of the set and played the new album start to finish. Although the record had only been out for a few weeks, the audience knew every word as evidenced by the incredibly loud singing. Obviously it’s the band’s job to put on a show, but it’s easy to tell that they really love what they’re doing. The Maine have just as much energy, passion and friendliness as when they first started out. At one point during the show, a girl threw her lipstick up on stage and lead singer John O’Callaghan entertained the crowd by actually putting it on. He even brought a girl up on stage for her birthday and let her sing one of the last songs with him.

The band left the stage for a short “intermission” and we were treated to a video presentation while we waited. The clip featured the band members, in the present, acting out the different stages of their career over the past couple of years. It was a nice way to thank fans for supporting them over time and also to show that they can laugh at themselves and where they came from. They even poked fun at the connotation that goes along with signing to a major label.

When The Maine came back out, they ended the show with a mini set filled with their older songs. The highlight of this set, and maybe of the whole show, was their performance of “Ho Ho Hopefully”, a song they wrote when they were just starting out, and recently re-recorded on a holiday EP. This might be the first tour they’ve ever played the song on, and the crowd went crazy by turning it into one big sing-along. The band were all smiles and it was the perfect representation of the fun and energetic spirit of the night. After show ended, the band even waited so that each fan had the chance to meet them and get something signed.

Check out the rest of The Maine tour dates here!